


Unchained

by alphabot



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Miscarriage, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Slavery, Suicide Attempt, Untagged Side Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-26 21:22:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9922658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphabot/pseuds/alphabot
Summary: Since the day after he presented, Jongdae's spent his life at the end of a chain. War brings a new alpha, but Jongdae knows better than to hope for anything better.





	1. Waning Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the EXOFreeLoveAUFest. Posting here with slight edits since I can never seem to find all my mistakes until it's posted for all the world to see. Also, I don't think it's stated outright, but if my math is correct, by the time the main action happens Jongdae is 23.
> 
> Original Author's Note  
> Many thanks to the mods for not only the month long extension for everyone, but the extra days for me as well. A week before the original due date I tossed out everything I had and ended up with this. To the original prompter, I hope you enjoy this. It’s not quite what I had in mind, but it’s the story that wanted to come out.

100 yards. That’s how large Jongdae’s life has been ever since the day after he'd presented.

He used to wish that he’d never presented as an omega. He knew he didn't have it in him to be an alpha, so he used to wish that he'd have turned out to be a beta. But Lupa hadn't been kind to him. Instead she'd cursed Jongdae to be an omega, and Jongdae would wish that he wasn't one. But those days seem so far away now. Now he just wishes that he were never born. Either that, or that one night he'd just fall asleep never to wake up. At least then he'd be safe from the pain and horrors of this life.

He'd presented super early, at the age of sixteen when most wolves won't present until their early twenties. Adolescence is hard enough without a wolf adding to the raging hormones of a teenage human. But Jongdae had presented early, waking one morning feeling warm and flushed. He'd pushed through the day without second guessing it. He'd thought he was just coming down with something. But as the feelings grew as the day went on, Jongdae recognized it for what it was. He was going into heat. He skipped his last two classes of the day to run to the safety of his home.

Sehun, his younger brother, had come home all worried for him. But Jongdae wouldn't let him into his room, just claimed he needed to sleep it off. When their father came home, or rather when Jongdae’s stepfather came home as he’s only Sehun’s biological father, he recognized it as well. He didn't do anything that night, just made sure that Jongdae put something into his stomach. But the next morning, he sent Sehun off to school, and despite Jongdae’s cries, tears, and pleadings not to, he raped him.

He knotted Jongdae three times before the day was over. He justified it to himself, in his own twisted logic. The first was so that Jongdae’s first time wouldn't be with some stranger, some unwanted alpha who would force himself on the young and weak omega. The second was payment for not kicking him out when his mother had passed away when Sehun was only five and Jongdae only eight, was payment for raising a pup who was not his own. And the third was simply so that he could enjoy the innocence of Jongdae before the rest of the pack tainted him.

At the end of the day, his stepfather carried his weary and broken body to the center of their small village, to where the Omega Hut was. It had lain barren and unused for some years since the death of their last omega. His father had placed him on the old, rickety cot and slipped the steel collar around his neck. When the lock clicked shut, Jongdae’s fate was sealed.

Attached to the collar around his neck is an iron chain 100 yards in length. From that moment on his world consists of nothing more than the 100 yards that Jongdae’s chain lets him move in every direction. Just before Jongdae’s stepfather leaves him there to his fate, he half-shifts into his wolf form, just enough to reform his vocal chords so that he can perform a proper howl. It’s long and piercing in the quiet hum of daily life in the village.

For those who hadn't scented it on the air or seen it with their eyes as he'd been carried to the hut, the message is clear: the pack has an omega again, let the debauchery begin.

-

Jongdae no longer bothers to count the days or years as they pass by anymore. They’re all the same now anyway. Even on days that he isn't mounted by some beta or knotted by some alpha he is still the pack’s favorite way of relieving stress. He has been beaten and whipped, starved and isolated from everyone he'd thought cared for him. Only Sehun cares for him anymore. Only Sehun bathes his bruised and battered body with a sponge and water from the river, only Sehun makes sure he has enough food and water to drink. Only Sehun alone loves him. And maybe Jongin too. Jongin is Sehun’s best friend, so Jongdae doesn't know if he helps Sehun because he truly cares for Jongdae or he’s just being a good friend to Sehun. But it's nice to have two people who show him some kindness.

And yet it’s not enough. Jongdae dreams of a life free from the collar, free from the pain and abuse. He longs for a life that's simply free. And he knows that the only way he will ever get it is when he dies. He’s tried to take his own life before, the scars on his wrist are testaments to that. But when you live your life collared and chained, there is no place that you can hide. He'd been found before he could bleed out, and Sehun had been hysterical.

Jongin had come to Jongdae in tears. He'd pleaded that Jongdae never do anything like that again because Sehun had been so broken at his inability protect and save his brother that he'd almost taken his own life then too. Sehun already lives with the weight of feeling guilty that he isn't strong enough to stand up to the might of the whole pack. Jongin knew that if Jongdae was to ever succeed in taking his life, Sehun would likely follow him.

Jongdae can't do that to his brother, so he refrains from trying to take his life again. But that doesn't stop him from thinking about it, and it doesn't stop him from wishing it would happen anyway. So he lives his life as if he's already dead, staying alive for the sake of his brother. He blocks out the beatings and pain, blocks out how the pack uses his body all without ever asking for permission.

Maybe if he'd been more aware of his surrounding he'd had seen it coming, recognized the strange scents that would waft in on the wind occasionally. Perhaps he might have caught snippets of the worry that the pack would whisper to one another on the street. But then again, what does it matter, he's just the omega fuck-toy of the pack. Who rules the pack matters little to him.

But it matters to everyone else. War is coming to the wolves, and though they may be far removed from the capital, what happens there has far reaching consequences across wolfdom. Distance may spare them some bloodshed, but it will not let them escape completely unscathed.

He's in the hut of some beta when his stepfather comes to see him again. He hadn't seen him since the day he'd clamped the collared chain around Jongdae’s neck. The beta has Jongdae on his knees, his dick shoved far down Jongdae’s open mouth. He'd long since conquered his gag reflex, he'd gotten sick of throwing up, not to mention he didn't like the beatings he'd receive for not being able to take it.

With his head buried so deep into the beta, his nose touching the base of his crotch, he doesn't even see his stepfather enter the beta’s hut. But he'd recognize that scent anywhere. He used to think that scent would always remind him of home. Now it only reminds him of betrayal. He feels a hand grab onto the hair on his head and yank him off the beta.

Technically he belonged to the beta right now. If his stepfather wanted a turn he’s supposed to wait. But in a pack whose culture prized strength and power above all else, might determined who was right. The beta could have fought for his right to keep Jongdae, but his stepfather was an alpha, and a powerful one at that. He didn't even put up a fuss as Jongdae’s stepfather picked him up and threw his scrawny body over his shoulder to carry him out of the hut.

The home that he was brought up in is too far for the chain to reach, so they end up back at the Omega Hut back in the center of the village. It's an early spring day, the chill of winter beginning to fade. The heavy furs that serve as walls to protect Jongdae from the cold, wind, and rain are pulled wide open to air the hut out and his stepfather doesn't even bother to close them to mount him in privacy.

He takes him there for everyone to see, every other alpha and beta, male and female, the old and the yet still pups. He pulls three orgasms from Jongdae before knotting himself so deeply that he makes Jongdae pass out. And when his knot finally softens enough to slip from Jongdae’s hole he takes him again. In all he knots him three times. The similarity of it to his first time penetrates through the defenses Jongdae has built up. It brings tears to his eyes and he cries to himself to sleep that night, still locked together with his stepfather.

It's the last time he ever sees him. By the time Jongdae wakes up the next morning to Sehun’s tearful ministrations he is long gone, out with another alpha on patrol of their borders. They never do find his body, but by the time it's all over his stepfather will not be the only uncertain casualty of war.

Almost all the young and able bodied young alpha and beta males are conscripted to fight in the war. Sehun and Jongin are spared only because they have not yet presented. They almost draft them anyway since they are so close to being of age, but Jongin argues who will take care of Jongdae if they send them away. The head alpha recognizes the truth is his statement and relents. He doesn't want to return to the pack to find its ill-treated prized procession dead from neglect. So he sets out with those he'd selected to fight in the war, leaving behind a few of the older alphas to guard the village in his absence.

The war is over before summer even ends. If the slow trickle of boxes of possessions returning without their owners wasn't enough to foretell its outcome, it's the presence of new and powerful wolves that appear on their borders that seal the deal. The war for the throne was over, and their pack had not been on the victor’s side.

When word comes from the scouts that the wolves are approaching the village, everyone busies themselves in hiding their valuables, hoping and praying to Lupa that the newcomers will be fair and just. Asking for them to be kind and benevolent is not something that crosses any of their minds.

Despite how they treat him, the pack considers Jongdae to be a valuable as well, especially since omegas are rare outside of the decadence and easy life of the bigger cities. The alpha who’d been left in charge ordered the skins to be lowered and for Jongdae to stay hidden inside of the Omega Hut. Sehun helped him with the skins, while Jongin brought the full length of the chain inside of the hut to hide all evidence of him. A few of the female wolves smear herbs and spices around the hut and the surrounding area in an attempt to disguise Jongdae’s omega scent.

To Jongdae, the attempts are futile. They will find him sooner or later. And when then do, the small reprieve he'd gotten from having most of the alphas and betas of the pack off fighting in the war will end. Who rules the pack doesn't matter. He's nothing but an omega, a hole to be used and filled.

-

Kyungsoo surveys the village before him with a critical eye. So far out from the capital, it’s crude and almost primitive. It's obvious that none of the huts that serve as homes have any running water, and forget about electricity. It's nothing more than a blimp on a map, barely worth the ink it takes to write its name down – that is, it would be if it actually had a name. So small and insignificant the village is that no one has ever bothered to give it a proper name.

He suddenly feels someone beside him. He knows it's Joonmyun, his second in command. No one else has ever been able to sneak up on him the way that he can. At the start of the war, the two had fought on opposing sides. After a serious injury, Joonmyun’s company leader had left him to die. Kyungsoo had stumbled upon him and nursed him back to health. In return for his kindness he'd gained a loyal follower that had proven to be valuable asset to the many victories that Kyungsoo would orchestrate. He’s grateful that his first encounter with the elder alpha had not been while Joonmyun was in his prime. He was a motherly type, but the type of mother that everyone knew not to cross. He fought like a vicious beast whose pups had been threatened and had come to view Kyungsoo as one of them despite their only two-year age difference.

“They’re hiding their valuables,” notes Joonmyun.

Kyungsoo lets out a sound of acknowledgement. That much he could see. It would be easy enough to force them to produce such trinkets from hiding. But that's all they would be, mere trinkets. If anyone had anything of real value they would not be living here.

“Let them,” Kyungsoo says. “That means we won't see as much and won't have to stay here any longer than necessary. We move in at dawn.”

Joonmyun gave Kyungsoo an acknowledgment of the order and then turned around to quietly relay them to the others in their small company.

“Secure the outlying towns and villages. Get them to concede to the terms of surrender.” Those had been the orders that Kyungsoo's commander had given him. “And then come home.”

Kyungsoo can't wait to return to his family estate. He's had enough fighting and bloodshed to last him his whole life over. He could have skipped this last stop. It was, after all, unnamed. Who would know if he had skipped it? But Kyungsoo has been raised to be upright and moral. He would know, as would his small company of men. One more sleepy unnamed village and then they'd be done. One more, and then home.

-

As scheduled, they move in at dawn, when the sky just begins to lighten and give way to the day. They approach in full human form, for they aren't planning on doing any fighting. They've been spotted, have been for some time, but they weren't hiding their movements anyway. Hiding is for those with no honor, no dignity. They are the victors. The have plenty of both. They time the cadence of their walk perfectly, and when they finally pause just outside the edges of the line of buildings it’s to the sight of the sun just breaking over the tree line behind them.

They are met by what remains of the alpha and beta males of the village. One in the center, an alpha and presumably the one in charge, warily breaks rank with the others to step forward.

“What business brings you here?”

“The war is over,” Kyungsoo says in his strong baritone. “We've come to ensure the terms of surrender.”

He takes out scroll from beneath his light coat and hands it to Joonmyun. It’s old fashioned in today’s day and age, but the power and authority that it conveys is so much more than a simple piece of paper could ever manage. Joonmyun unrolls the scroll and begins to read the opening lines. This too, is all about appearances. Joonmyun has read them so many times that he's memorized them, no longer needs to look down at the scroll. He keeps up appearances though, bowing his head even if his eyes are looking around.

The opening lines of the scroll aren't important. They’re just the announcement of the end of the war, short as it was, and who was victorious at its outcome. The previous Alpha of alphas had finally died without legitimate children of his own and without having named a successor. The Shim packs had backed his nephew as heir to the throne while the Kim packs had backed an illegitimate son from their own heritage. The Jung packs didn't care for the nephew, but damned if they were going to see a bastard inherit the throne. The other factions had more or less fallen in line with one of the major three players.

This wayward village, like all of the other nearby towns and villages, had sided with the Kims, but it was the Shims who would win the war. As victors, they drafted their own terms of surrender and held fast to them no matter what. There were simply two options: accept them or die. Harsh as they were, that was the way of the wolves.

Opening lines read, Joonmyun made a show of closing the scroll up. Kyungsoo scanned those gathered before him. During Joonmyun's speech more of the village had come out to see them. They were mostly female. Of the few males present they were either too young or too old to fight in the war. Only the original eight looked like they were left behind as protection for the village, although two in particular stood out to him. They were young and obviously not yet trained in how to fight, and yet they'd been left behind and not drafted like others their age had been. They were tall and a little lean, dare he even say scrawny. Life here must be harsh.

His eyes locked gazes with the lighter skinned of the two. There was something in his eyes that spoke to a hard a life growing up, as if he'd had to shoulder more than someone his age should have to carry. Kyungsoo moved his gaze to the other, more tanned of the two. His eyes widened in surprise and he bowed his head to avert his gaze. Kyungsoo stared at the boy’s lowered head for a moment before turning to look back at the other's scowl. Ah, so that was it, and had he not been in business mode, Kyungsoo might have smiled at it.

Instead, he turned his gaze back at the Alpha who’d stepped forward as spokesman. “Shall we go over the terms in private?” he said. “I'm sure there are other things the members of your pack need to do.”

Kyungsoo confidently strode forward into the village, flanked by Joonmyun and Yixing. The rest of his men slowly fanned out in pairs to inspect the village. They all knew their orders, look out for any signs of wealth that could be taken as reparations or signs that told of the potential for further discontent and rebellion. The first task was one that Kyungsoo had instructed his men to carry out half-heartedly. These lesser towns and villages were poor enough as it was, taking any amount of wealth for reparations would no doubt be downright brutal for them. Plus, the clans that ruled the packs in them were smaller and less influential. They likely only sided with the Kims for geographic reasons. Kindness, even subtle kindness like the overlooking of hidden valuables, would no doubt be remembered. Should fighting break out again anytime soon, they could be persuaded to stay loyal to the new Alpha of alphas.

As for the second task, only one town had been foolish enough display any type of hostility to Kyungsoo and his men. They had a slight advantage of numbers over Kyungsoo and his men. But Kyungsoo only commanded the best the of the best, each of them handpicked personally. They made swift work of them, subduing them quickly before Kyungsoo offered them a second chance to surrender. But they were stubborn. Many wolves lost their lives that day, unnecessarily so. None of them had belonged to Kyungsoo.

From within the midst of the village, the poverty of it was even more striking. Why they clung to such a miserable existence and didn't move to a better place was beyond Kyungsoo. But who was he to judge? He made his way towards the center of the village. There was a hut there, seemingly set apart from the others.

“Excuse me, Sir,” said a voice behind him. “But my home is this way.”

Kyungsoo stopped short and looked back at the alpha. He jerked his head at the hut he'd been heading towards. “Is that not the seat of power in this village.”

“No, Sir,” answered the alpha. “That is used for other purposes. This way please.”

Kyungsoo looked over to Joonmyun, but his second had no reaction. It didn't quite make sense, but perhaps the hut served a more superstitious and ritualistic purpose. This far out from the capital there were still some places that held onto the more ancient ways of worshiping Lupa. With one last glance at the hut in the center of the village, Kyungsoo turned to follow the alpha into the hut that served as his home. The sooner this was over with, the sooner Kyungsoo and his men could return home.

-

The terms were not all that complicated. They could be summed up in four words: Complete and total surrender. Of course, what that looked like was where it got tricky, for people were apt to interpret such seemingly clear and concise words in many different ways. It was for this reason that the scroll containing the terms of surrender was so long. Joonmyun and Yixing took turns reading and discussing the with the alpha and the elders of the village.

Kyungsoo, for his part, said very little. It gave the illusion that he was in fact more important than he really was. Although, if the powers that be have their way, then his family might very well have some power and station in the new order that was dawning. Of course, as the younger son, Kyungsoo would make sure that any power and responsibility would fall squarely on the shoulders of his older brother Minseok.

The elders of the village seemed to accept the terms as they were. No doubt a few of them might have been old enough to remember the wars from long ago and the way the losers had been dealt with then. The terms before them today were infinitely more merciful. But the alpha seemed a bit more stubborn. There was a brief moment when Kyungsoo thought that he would reject the terms, as futile as that would have been. Kyungsoo weighed the situation and calculated that his death alone would silence any more opposition from the beaten down village.

But then, someone knocked at the entrance of the hut and handed the beta who pulled back the fur that served as a door a small box. The beta opened the box and pulled out a leather necklace with an amulet made out of the antlers of a deer. The silence that descended in the hut told Kyungsoo everything he needed to know about the previous owner of the amulet. The alpha turned to look Kyungsoo in the eyes, all stubbornness and defiance extinguished in his own. Kyungsoo knew there would be no further resistance from them.

“We accept the terms of surrender,” he said.

-

Two days later, Kyungsoo and his men are ready to leave this Lupa forsaken village. They had followed the demands of Kyungsoo and his men down to the letter.

Kyungsoo still had yet to figure out the purpose of the hut at the center of the village. It seemed as if everyone steered away from it, it was almost as if it didn't even exist. The few times that Kyungsoo had been intrigued enough to wander closer to it his attention would suddenly be pulled elsewhere by someone or another. Such collective redirecting and ignoring of such a blatant structure could only be on purpose, but for what reason Kyungsoo couldn't imagine.

He briefly thought that the village had actually hidden something of great value behind the heavy furs that sealed the hut from the outside world. But late last night he'd actually caught the tanned young one sneaking out of the hut. He was downwind and the young wolf didn't even know Kyungsoo was there. He almost stepped out and made his presence known. But a breeze brought a new yet subtle scent on it. It was heavenly and called to Kyungsoo, as if beckoning him to come and to claim. But then the furs had dropped back into place and the scent was gone, and so was the young pup almost on the cusp of maturity.

It hadn't been much, but the furs had been pulled back just far enough and there had been just enough light from the waning moon for Kyungsoo to see that there were no treasures stored up within the hut. There was just some rickety cot and other homely looking items. Traces of the scent told him to investigate further, but he didn't want to. Because he knew the scent of an omega when he smelt it. He didn't want to mix himself up with anyone from this village. He wanted to go home.

Although, now that he thinks about in the light of day as his men ready themselves to head out, why was everyone else ignoring the scent of an omega? The wolf was young, and no doubt just on the cusp of presenting himself. Surely the village should care that he was out walking about unprotected, even if Kyungsoo’s men were the utmost disciplined. Kyungsoo knew he would not feel comfortable with so many strange and foreign alphas and betas about Chanyeol, his omega friend, back home.

Kyungsoo pushed the thought aside. His work was done, it was time that he and his men left. It was time to go home. With the majority of his men assembled at the very edge of the tree line, he and Joonmyun were going over last minute formalities with the elders of the village when an errant breeze teased his nose with that sweet scent again. No one else reacted, so Kyungsoo didn't either. At least, he didn't until he heard Yixing shouting at the top of his lungs.

He hurried over to meet him. His huffing and puffing with the exertion of running to meet Kyungsoo made it hard for him to speak. “Ky...Kyungs...om...omega.”

All of the elders instantly tense up as if they’re on high alert. They probably think he's going to want to take their omega away from them. But that is the furthest thing from Kyungsoo's mind. He's seen the way the two young ones look at each other.

“I know, Yixing,” he says, and if anything the looks of terror on the elders only grows. But he doesn't want their omega. He just wants to go home. “I scented it last night. The young one is about to present soon.”

Yixing gives him a look of puzzlement. “The young one? That's not what I'm talking about.” He gestures off behind him back towards the village. “In the village, the hut. There’s an omega.”

Kyungsoo gives him a confused look. If he wasn't talking about the tanned-skin boy, then who was he talking about? There's something about the look in Yixing’s eyes that makes Kyungsoo pause. There's a mixture of fear, but also anger. How can those two emotions be felt at the same time?

“Come look,” Yixing says. He promptly turned around and started walking back towards the village.

Kyungsoo’s learned to trust his men, especially Yixing as they came from the same hometown. But he wants a second option so looks over to Joonmyun. There’s a look of confusion on his face as well, but a quick jerk of his head tells Kyungsoo to follow after Yixing. Although he was once a former enemy, Joonmyun has earned the same amount of trust that Kyungsoo has for Yixing. With them in agreement, Kyungsoo follows after Yixing.

He has to quicken his pace just to catch up with him. When Yixing sees that Kyungsoo’s right behind him he goes even faster until their quick walk turns into a jog and then an all-out run. Yixing leads Kyungsoo straight to the hut at the center of the village. He doesn't stop outside though, he pushes the furs aside and enters in.

Kyungsoo follows in after him, unprepared for the sight that meets him. There’s an omega lying on the cot, bruised, battered, and beaten. Around his neck is a metal collar, and attached to that, a long metal chain. He can see the other end of it attached to a huge metal steak. The omega looks up and turns his head to face them when he realized that they were in the hut. He looks Kyungsoo straight in the eyes.

There are two things that Kyungsoo realizes the moment that their eyes meet. The first is how broken the omega is. He doesn't even flinch at the presence of unfamiliar alphas in the hut. The look in his eyes is haunted, as if he'd already given up living and was just waiting out his days to die. The look doesn't change as the omega sits up and slides off the cot to get on his knees before Kyungsoo. Somehow he sensed that it's Kyungsoo who held the higher rank between him and Yixing, and he was just offering himself over to the alpha, as if his past had taught him not to fight back, that this was his lot in life.

The other thing that Kyungsoo realizes is that he wants this omega to be his, because just as their eyes meet, so too does the full force of the omega’s scent. It's the same scent he'd caught a whiff of the night before, but it's so much more too. It's crazy, it's sweet. It's everything Kyungsoo ever wanted and all that he didn't know he wanted too. If it was heavenly before as a vapor on the wind, it's even more so now.

Suddenly, Kyungsoo understands how someone can feel such burning anger and such chilling fear at the same point in time. It doesn't even take two seconds before he feels those emotions so passionately within him. He feels furious at what the village has inflicted on the omega, at the torture they'd subjected him to. He wants to raze the village to the ground and slaughter them down to the last pup. He even considers it for a moment, for who would miss a village that didn't even have a name.

But he also feels such fear as well. Because he knows that this is the one he's been waiting for. This is his omega, the one that is supposed to complete him, to love and be loved by him. And yet the look in the omega’s eyes tells him that he’s already given up on life. And Kyungsoo is afraid that he will never be able to revive the spark of life within him. He wants to see the omega smile; he wants to be the reason for the omega’s smile. He wants a house with a yard, two kids, and lifetime of happiness. And he fears that he will never have it, because he doesn't know if he can get the omega to live again.

Kyungsoo is broken out of his thoughts by the sound of running. He expects it to be the alpha left in charge of the village or some other village elder. He does not expect for it to be the pale and blond one.

“Stay away from my brother!” he shouts. “Leave him alone.” He launches himself at Kyungsoo, hands clenched into fists. But the lad is untrained, it’s easy for Kyungsoo to simply sidestep the attack.

“Easy kid,” he says.

The kid, of course, doesn't listen. He merely tries to hit Kyungsoo again. But this time Yixing intervenes, expertly maneuvering him into a headlock and subduing the boy.

“Don't you dare touch him, you filthy alpha!” The boy still struggles valiantly, still makes an attempt at playing the omega’s protector. But he's done a sad job of it if this what the village has done to his brother.

“Sehun, enough,” says the new alpha of the village as he finally catches up to them, a few of the village elders behind him. A few of Kyungsoo’s men have followed as well, led by Joonmyun.

“I'm sorry, Sir,” the alpha says as he regains his breath. “Please forgive the boy, he's still young and-”

Kyungsoo doesn't even let him finish. He points at the omega on his knees and cuts the alpha off. “What is the meaning of this?”

The alpha doesn't even look ashamed. If anything he looks proud. And his words only prove him correct. “This is Jongdae. He’s our omega, our village’s most prized procession, our peacekeeper.”

“Your peacekeeper?” Somehow Kyungsoo managed to keep his anger from his tone.

“Yes, he keeps our anger and aggression in check. He takes it and helps our village remains a peaceable habitation. He also keeps our urges at bay as well.”

Kyungsoo can read between the lines. It means he's the village’s punching bag. It means he’s the village’s unwilling whore. He scans over the villagers who’ve assembled to watch them. None of them look ashamed or guilty for how they've treated the omega. It's as if this is normal for them, that this is how they treat omegas in this village. They've probably always treated their omegas this way, have so for generations.

The realization disgusts Kyungsoo to his core, and he knows his eyes are burning with fury. But the alpha must misinterpret the fire in his eyes as desire. The next words out of his mouth are, “Would you like a fuck before you leave? He's quite a lay, even if he's a little too passive most times. He usually just lays there and takes it.”

It's the final straw for Kyungsoo. The thought that Jongdae has been forcefully taken over and over again against his will makes something within him snap. He leaps up and shifts into his wolf in midair. Within seconds it's already over, the alpha’s neck snapped before he could even react. He never even stood a chance.

His bloodlust mildly satisfied, Kyungsoo walked over to where Jongdae was still on his knees. The omega recoiled a bit, suddenly fearful of what Kyungsoo might do. He supposed his fear was warranted. After all, Kyungsoo was an outsider, and he'd just killed the new alpha of the village. But Kyungsoo never wants this omega to ever be afraid of him. He lets out a whine, hoping that it would comfort Jongdae a little. He cautiously extends his snout to the omega’s face, and when the omega didn't pull back any further, he gingerly nuzzled against his face before giving him a few furtive licks with his tongue.

He turned back to look at the others gathered. They were all watching him, waiting to see what he would do. A few of those gathered looked fearful, not because of what Kyungsoo might do to them, but because they feared he might take their omega away from them. And now, now that he knows everything, that's exactly what he’s going to do.

No one was going to hurt his omega again. Kyungsoo would make sure of it.

He shifted back into a man and Joonmyun quickly moved to pick up a blanket off the cot for Kyungsoo to wrap around himself. His nakedness covered, Kyungsoo turned to scan his gaze over those assembled. By now a considerable amount of the village has gathered to see what the commotion was about. His eyes settled on a group of elders standing together.

“The omega is coming with me,” he declares in a strong, commanding voice. He doesn't use his alpha commanding power, but the authority in his voice is unquestionable.

At hearing his declaration, Sehun tried to struggle free from Yixing hold where he was still held immobile, sounds of protest spilling from his mouth. Kyungsoo turned his piercing eyes to him and the young boy stopped moving immediately.

“His brother and the other boy his age will be coming as well,” he said without turning his gaze back to the elders. And then to Sehun he added, “I suggest you quickly pack what you want to bring along, pup. We leave in two hours.”

Kyungsoo strode purposefully away from the infernal hut and the audience that had assembled. He needed to get away and calm down before his wolf came forth and followed through on the feelings inside of him. Just before he’s too far away he looks back over his shoulder.

“Get him out of that collar,” he says.


	2. New Moon

It's an hour after sunset before they stop for the evening. Jongdae knows that the company would have made it farther had they not had him along. But Jongdae hasn't had to walk this far since he was sixteen. His muscles are already protesting at being used in unfamiliar ways and he can only imagine what they’ll feel like in the morning.

He can't believe he’s finally free of the metal chain, that infernal length of chain that had bound him to the Omega Hut for the last six years of his life. It's like a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders, and he supposes that in reality it sort of has. He no longer has the full weight of the chain pulling down on his neck. In the end, they'd been unable to free him from the collar. No omega had ever been released from it alive before. Only death had freed them before, so no one knew where the key to it was, if there had even been one made oh so long ago. Freedom came to him by Joonmyun and another alpha working together to break the chain instead.

Now, Jongdae sits by the edge of a fire as the others busy themselves in setting up camp for the evening. Hunched over like this, what remains of the chain is just long enough to touch the ground. Jongdae carefully reaches out and fingers the end of it, lost in thought and oblivious to the activity around him. What was going to happen to him now? This new alpha, Kyungsoo, what did he want with him?

He thinks back over the events of the day. How the alpha had discovered his existence wasn't too hard to figure out. A horny and overeager beta had been unable to wait for Kyungsoo and his men to leave and jumped upon him as soon as he thought they'd all left the village. But he had missed Yixing’s lingering presence and as soon as Yixing had peeked into the hut to investigate Jongdae’s muffled cries, Jongdae had known that the game was over. The beta had scrambled off without finishing, not wanting to be present when Jongdae’s presence would be exposed.

When Kyungsoo had entered the hut he'd immediately scrambled to submit to the alpha. But what he hadn't expected was for Kyungsoo’s scent and presence to be so powerful. The fire in the alpha’s eyes was one that Jongdae is well acquainted with. He’s been looked at with so many lust filled eyes that he can even place such looks on a spectrum. And of all the looks that a Jongdae has ever received, he would have to place Kyungsoo’s at the most extreme end of it.

The alpha wants him. And if his actions say anything, Kyungsoo intends to have him. Kyungsoo killed another alpha and then took Jongdae away from his village. Why he also took Sehun and Jongin is something Jongdae hasn't figured out yet. But the intense look Kyungsoo had worn when Jongdae had pleaded with him to let his brother and his friend return to the village told him that he wasn't about to let any of them return home. Jongdae doesn't care what happens to him, but he hopes that nothing bad will happen to his brother or Jongin.

He's startled out of his thoughts by Yixing sitting down next to him. He'd been so lost in them that he had even been aware of the alpha’s approach. In his shock, he accidentally cut his finger on a sharp part of the broken chain.

“Careful,” Yixing says as he reaches over to grab Jongdae’s hands.

The movement only serves to startle Jongdae even more and he scrambles back on his hands and butt to get away from the alpha.

Recognizing his mistake, Yixing raises his hands into the air and moves away from Jongdae. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.”

Jongdae stops backing away, but he doesn't return to the fireside.

Yixing slowly lowered his hands and held one out to him. “Can I take a look? I'm the company’s medic. And my omega is a doctor. I promise I won't hurt you.”

He smiles at Jongdae, and maybe it's the way he looks when two dimples appear on his cheeks, but somehow Jongdae gives in and moves closer to offer up his hand for Yixing to look at. The medic is careful not to hurt Jongdae too much, but even so, he can't stop the sting of pain that shoots through Jongdae as he brushes the cut clean.

“It's not a deep one,” Yixing mumbles. “Joonmyun should have done a better job of smoothing down the edges.”

Joonmyun had tried, but years of being hit for talking back has trained Jongdae not to speak up unless asked a question.

“May I?” Yixing asks.

Jongdae doesn't know what he's asking permission for, but he's learned to never refuse an alpha so he nods. Yixing raises his hand to his mouth and begins to lick gingerly at the cut. Jongdae is surprised. No one has done this for him in years. He supposes Sehun or Jongin would have done had he asked, but their saliva didn't have the healing properties that a mature wolf’s would so there had been no point. Jongdae really doesn't know what to make of it all, especially not the tears that begin to pool in his eyes.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of Jongdae’s neck stand on end. Someone’s watching them. He turns to find Kyungsoo eyeing them, a slight frown pinching his eyebrows together.

“What's going on?” Kyungsoo says.

Yixing pulls Jongdae’s finger out of his mouth to answer him. “He cut his finger on the chain. I'm just cleaning it for him.”

“Does it hurt? You're crying.”

Jongdae can't bring himself to answer, he's feeling too many things right now. Thankfully Yixing offers up an explanation that is accurate enough. “He's probably a little overwhelmed. A lot has changed for him in just a day. Give him a couple of days and he'll be okay.” Yixing turned to look at Jongdae. “Won't you?”

Jongdae nods his head in response, more because he doesn't know what else to do than because he agrees.

“I brought a bedroll for you tonight. The nights are starting to get cold.” Kyungsoo says, seemingly placated by Jongdae’s agreement. Jongdae can only nod in response once again.

Realizing that’s all the answer he's going to get out of Jongdae for the time being, Kyungsoo turns to address Yixing. “Have one of the men to smooth out the edges better. I'll be taking first watch, Joonmyun’s organizing the others.” And then to the both of them he says, “Rest up, tomorrow's a long day.”

Jongdae does exactly that, climbing into the bedroll right after finishing the supper they’d served him. It's warm and comfortable, and he falls asleep almost immediately. And really, how could he not, for he'd done more exercise that day than he'd done in years. His last thought before he slips off to sleep is that the bedroll smells really nice, it's something he could get used to.

-

Two days later, Jongdae’s feet are killing him. Most of Jongdae’s body is protesting all the movement and exertion, but his feet are especially killing him right now. It’s probably because he only has a pair of slippers to wear. They’re too big for him, totally not what someone should be wearing as they trudge through the woods. But Jongdae hasn't worn shoes since he was chained up, and it's all his brother had to lend him.

They stopped to set up camp early today next to a small stream. The first real town is less than a day away, too far to reach by tonight, but close enough to be there by midday tomorrow. They probably would have been there by now had they not had three extra bodies slowing them down. Sehun and Jongin also aren't used to such activity, but they’re holding up better for obvious reasons.

Yixing checks on Jongdae every night before they turn into their bedrolls. He's pleased with the progress the Jongdae’s wounds are making, but Jongdae knows that the alpha is concerned that they’re still healing too slow. Jongdae figures it's because his body is simply tired of constantly having to repair itself. Already the last two days have been like a miracle, other than a cut on his finger and greatly protesting muscles, nothing else has happened to him. No biting remarks, no beatings, and not one of the wolves in Kyungsoo’s company has made a move on him.

It's strange and the complete opposite of what Jongdae has come to expect from alphas and betas. He keeps waiting for one of them to show their true colors, to maybe sneak up on him during the night and mount him. But so far nothing. The only thing he receives from most of them are looks, looks that are filled with something that Jongdae can't quite figure out. It is something, but it is not desire.

Jongdae is torn from his thoughts by the sound of Jongin approaching him. “Hey,” the boy says in greeting. “How are you holding up?”

“I'm fine,” Jongdae answers. “Just a little sore. Where’s Sehun?”

“He’s with Joonmyun. The alpha is showing him how to hunt.”

Jongdae nods his head in lieu of a reply. His brother seems to have taken a liking to the alpha. He's been following the older wolf around, constantly underfoot with questions. For some reason, the alpha tolerates it too.

“Yixing says that we should be able to find someone who can get that collar off of you when we get to town.”

Jongdae nods again, adding a hum this time. Jongin reaches out and gingerly places his hand on Jongdae’s shoulder. Jongdae resists the urge to shrug it off. Aside from Sehun, Jongin is the only one who has ever cared for him. But now, away from the village that they'd all grown up in, Jongdae can't help but second guess how much of that concern is genuine. Especially since he feels that he’s the reason Jongin and Sehun were taken from the village as well. Were it not for him, Jongin and Sehun would still be back home living their own lives. Maybe if Kyungsoo had only taken Jongdae, Sehun might have finally been able to find some happiness, get over his guilt of not being strong enough to protect Jongdae.

“You're thinking too much,” Jongin says.

Jongdae lets out a snort. “How do you know what I'm thinking.”

“I've taken care of you for years. I know when you start thinking your no good thoughts. Everything is going to be okay, you’ll see.”

“You don't know that. You don't know where this alpha is taking us.”

“Any place is better than that hell hole we came from. Don't tell me you'd rather be chained up in the Omega Hut, being beat and raped for every alpha or beta to use. You deserve a better life.”

“With Kyungsoo? So he can do the same to me.” Jongdae pulled himself away from Jongin’s hand.

“He’s not like that.”

“How do you know? I've seen it in his eyes. He wants me just as much as the wolves back home did. What makes you think he’s any different?”

“Because he's a good guy. He's a little rough around the edges and not very good with people, but he's a good guy. All the men respect him. Maybe if you gave him a chance, got to know him, you'd see that he's not like the alphas back home. For Lupa’s sake, he's the one who rescued you from the chain.”

“Did you ever think it's so that he can have me for himself?” They’re full out arguing now, but it feels good to say all of these thoughts out loud, to hear them in the air instead of only echoes in his head. “Tell me one other thing that he's done for me since we started this journey.”

Jongin gives him look like he can't believe what Jongdae is saying. “He gave up his bedroll for you,” he answers. It's not what Jongdae was expecting, because how could he have slept in the alpha's own bedroll for two nights and not realize it. “There weren’t enough extras, so Kyungsoo gave you his own bedroll. He's been sleeping as a wolf every night.”

Jongdae doesn't have a comeback to that. And thankfully he doesn't need to come up with one because the sounds of someone approaching them prevents their argument from going any further.

It’s Kyungsoo himself, of all people, who breaks out of the brush.

“Are you two okay?” he asks.

“We’re fine, Sir,” says Jongin.

Kyungsoo gives him a rare smile. “Call me Kyungsoo. ‘Sir’ makes me sound old.” He stops a few paces away from them. “Are you sure you're okay? We’re not traveling too fast for you, are we?” He's facing Jongin, but the words are obviously meant for Jongdae.

Jongin answers anyway. “No, the pace is fine,” he says.

“And you?” Kyungsoo asks Jongdae when he stays silent.

“Fine,” Jongdae says.

Kyungsoo doesn't look like he believes Jongdae, but then again he didn't look like he quite believed Jongin either. He has this acuteness to his gaze, like he’s calculating something. “Joonmyun and Sehun will be back with the others in an hour or so,” he finally says. “Why don't you go rest Jongin, go lay down. I'll take Jongdae to soak his feet in the stream, it'll help with the soreness.”

Just like that, Jongdae finds himself alone with the alpha who’d upended his life. He finds himself nervous, but he doesn't feel threatened, at least not yet. Kyungsoo leads him to the small stream and motions for Jongdae to climb out on the trunk of a tree that had fallen across its width to soak his feet. The alpha joins him after first removing his boots and socks.

The stream is gentle, but the water is cool and feels great around Jongdae’s aching feet. He lets out a sigh of contentment before he even realizes it.

Kyungsoo looks at him out of the side of his eyes, but he doesn't say anything, content to let silence descend between them. It's a good while before he breaks it. “How does it feel?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Good,” Jongdae answers.

“The going will be easier from here on out. We might even be able to find transportation for the rest of the way.”

Jongdae nods his head. He doesn't know what else to do and he can't think of anything to say. He just watches the stream flow by, their feet drifting lazily along in the current.

Kyungsoo suddenly moves to straddle the tree trunk and pats Jongdae's leg. It takes a second wordless invitation before Jongdae understands what he’s asking. He carefully swings a leg up and over until he too is straddling the trunk, except Kyungsoo catches Jongdae’s foot in his hands and doesn't let it go. He scoots back a bit further so that Jongdae’s legs can extend more comfortably before reaching down to cup some water into his hands to clean off some dirt from Jongdae’s foot that hadn't come loose while soaking. And then Kyungsoo starts to massage Jongdae’s foot.

The entire process happens without a word. Kyungsoo uses his nimble fingers to ease away the aches in Jongdae’s foot. And when he's done with the first he motions for Jongdae to give him the other. He does each foot twice, making sure to clean off any traces of dirt and carefully inspect them for any cuts that he might have gotten. But Jongdae's feet are well calloused from years of going barefoot, so other than a few red scrapes they've withstood everything else.

Seemingly satisfied, Kyungsoo’s fingers slow until they're merely holding Jongdae’s left foot in their light grasp. He looks up and their eyes meet. Jongdae knows that his are watery, he's reliving the same feelings as he had when Yixing had taken the time to clean his cut some days before. But Kyungsoo’s eyes are different. They’re burning with a new, mismatched emotion. Jongdae doesn't know what to call it. It's similar to the way that Sehun looks at him, but it’s different, more intense somehow. It unnerves him, so Jongdae jerks his head to look back at the stream.

He does it with such force that he nearly lost his balance, but Kyungsoo’s quick reflexes saved him. He merely tightened his grip on Jongdae’s foot and gently tugs him back into place.

Kyungsoo drops his hold once Jongdae seems to have regained his balance. “I'll have someone get you some real shoes when we get into town,” he says as he stands to retrieve his shoes.

No other words pass between them as they return to their campsite for the night, and when they get there they go their separate ways. But Jongdae can't help it if his eyes search for glimpses of the alpha in the evening routine.

As he lay in his bedroll that night, he doesn't know if he smells the alpha’s scent on it because it's really there or if he just wants it to be there. He keeps playing the memory of their interaction over and over again in his mind. What was it that was in the alpha’s eyes, and why does it make Jongdae feel so…well, Jongdae didn't know what it makes him feel either.

Such thoughts made it hard for him to sleep that night. Dawn is just beginning to pierce the dark sky when he finally gives up and pulls himself begrudgingly out of his bedroll. He walks off into the woods to relieve himself away from where Joonmyun stood watch over their group.

Business taken care of, it's on his way back that he sees it. Kyungsoo in his wolf form lazily stretching as he rouses from his slumber. Jongdae doesn't mean to spy, but when Kyungsoo starts shifting into a man he freezes up, taking in the sight of the alpha’s naked and toned body.

A flicker of heat sparks through him. But that’s all it is, a flicker. It sputters out as quickly as it had risen. Jongdae wonders if it’s desire. He wouldn’t really know, because although his body has had countless orgasms pulled from it, none of them have ever been willing. But he pushes such thoughts away. He doesn’t want to take another knot for the rest of his life, however short or long it may be now.

-

They made it to town just after midday, just in time for a late but warm lunch. True to Kyungsoo’s guess, they were able to arrange for more efficient means of transportation. After walking all over the outermost settlements of the kingdom for the last month, the chance to ride was luxurious. Who cared if it was a beat up old school bus with no radio. It would get them home faster than if they'd have to continue on by foot.

The effects of being able to ride were most visibly seen on the Sehun, Jongdae, and Jongin. Sehun looked no worse for wear, but that was to be expected. Kyungsoo knew the boy wouldn't give him any problems and so far he’s lived up to all of his expectations. Jongdae had never complained once during their trek through the woods, but there was no denying how much he was enjoying being able to ride instead. He didn’t look so thin either, no longer just skin and bones, and his marks and bruises were beginning to fade. He was still wary of anyone other than Sehun, Jongin, and Yixing though. The last name on that list irked Kyungsoo, as much as he tried to tell himself that it didn't. The fact that Yixing had Baekhyun waiting for him back home was little consolation. At least Jongdae was still wary of Joonmyun too, despite the older male’s attempts to mother to poor omega. It was only a matter of time before Jongdae would give in though, Joonmyun was relentless like that.

It was Jongin who Kyungsoo was most worried about, though. He recognized the warning signs in the young pup and wanted to be back home before anything came to fruition. As such, he pushed the driver to travel as fast as possible. If his men thought him impatient to get home, then so be it.

But time wasn't on their side. They're four hours short of reaching home when the flat tire forces them to stop for the night in a small wayside town. Kyungsoo almost considers waking up the owners of the repair shop to fix the tire so they can continue, but it's approaching midnight. His men, despite having just sat on a bus all day, are tired, as is the bus driver. They’ll just have to wait till tomorrow to get home.

Their return to civilization means they can get real rooms in a motel. They have to put more than four in a room, but real beds and hot showers are a godsend so the men don’t complain. Despite an uneasy feeling about it, Kyungsoo puts Jongdae, Jongin, and Sehun in a room together with Yixing, Joonmyun, and himself. He was going to put just Jongin and Jongdae in the room and squeeze Yixing, Joonmyun, and Sehun into other rooms and just sleep in the bus himself, but Joonmyun and Yixing had given him questioning looks and he didn’t feel like explaining himself. Kyungsoo doesn't like sharing his bed, so he falls asleep in the desk chair, leaning back against the wall, feelings of uneasiness still turning within him.

He should have followed his instincts.

It’s still dark outside when Jongin’s distressed cries break them all out their slumber. Kyungsoo immediately flicks on the lights. His first thought is to get Joonmyun out of the room because he’s the most unknown variable at the moment. He roughly manhandles him out of the room before he even realizes what’s going on. One down, two more to go.

He turns around and takes stock of where everyone else is in the room. Yixing is still on one of the beds, his eyes blinking as if he’s not quite awake enough to process everything that’s going on. Jongin is on the other bed, withering as the effects of his first heat scorch through his body. Sehun is on top of him, holding Jongin’s arms above his head with his hands, caging the newly presented omega beneath his body. And Jongdae is right there next to them trying to pull his brother off. But he can’t, because Sehun’s grip is tight and bruising.

The room floods with conflicting scents from the three of them. There’s Sehun’s, simultaneously full of desire and anger at being held back from what he views as his rightfully his. There’s Jongin’s, lustful yet scared of what's happening to him. And then there’s Jongdae’s, absolutely terrified and freaked out of his mind. Of all of them, that’s the scent that truly matters to Kyungsoo.

He moves quickly to subdue Sehun, wrapping his arms around the boy to draw him into a hold. Sehun may not be trained, but it still takes Kyungsoo some effort to get Sehun to release his hold on Jongin and pull him away. Jongin’s presenting has triggered Sehun’s own, and the alpha in him is none too pleased to be forced away from what he sees as his mate. He struggles valiantly and Kyungsoo almost loses his hold on the boy before Yixing comes alongside to help restrain him.

“Let me go!” shouts Sehun. “He’s mine.”

His arms free, Jongin curls up into a fetal position, crying and hugging himself in an attempt to sooth away the pain. Jongdae places himself between him and the alphas in the room.

“No Sehun,” he shouts back. “Stay away from him.”

“Don’t tell me what to do. He’s mine. He wants me.” Sehun manages to twist out of Yixing’s hold and makes a lunge for Jongin. He’s hampered by Kyungsoo still holding his left arm and Jongdae standing in his way, but he still manages to place a hand on Jongin’s leg, grasping it in a vice-like grip and pulling with all his might.

Jongin lets out a cry. It could have been pain or pleasure, it was hard to tell really. He wasn’t taking his presenting very well. But who could blame him? No doubt thoughts about what happened to Jongdae, thoughts about how omegas were treated back in his village were racing through his mind.

Jongdae’s reaction comes so quick he probably didn't even think before he did it. He bites his brother’s forearm deep enough to draw blood. It gets Sehun to release Jongin, a cry of pain filling the room, but it earns Jongdae a hit to the head before Yixing and Kyungsoo can restrain him again.

“Sehun, calm down!” Kyungsoo commands. Now that the boy’s presented as an alpha it wouldn't be as effective, but it was worth a shot.

But Sehun is so far gone in his lust that he ignores it completely. “He’s mine!” he shouts. “You can't keep me from him!”

“No, Sehun. He is not yours.” Jongdae shouts back.

“Yes he is! He needs me, he needs me to take him. I can make him feel better. He wants me.”

“Did he say that?”

“He's an omega,” Sehun says.

The words trigger something in Jongdae, his scent turning sour. It’s so strong that it overpowers Jongin’s own heat-filled scent and actually makes Sehun pause for a brief moment. To Kyungsoo, it's even more powerful, because all he wants to do is make it go away, to make whatever is triggering his omega disappear.

“‘He’s an omega?’” Jongdae’s voice drips with ice and contempt. Tears of anger fall down his face as he tries to hold himself together. “I guess you are your father’s son. I thought you were better than that, but I was wrong. You’re just like every other alpha and beta back home.”

The words cut through Sehun’s haze like a knife. He stills instantly, only now beginning to realize what was happening. But the damage is done. “Get out, get out, get out.” Jongdae says as he lunges for his brother. He doesn’t care who he actually hits with his slaps, landing hits on Yixing and Kyungsoo along with his brother. The three alphas retreat back towards the door of the motel room.

“Jongdae, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-” Sehun tries to apologize.

But Jongdae is in no state of mind to hear him out. “I said, ‘get out!’”

Yixing opens the door and shoves a reluctant Sehun out before following after him. Kyungsoo lets the door close behind them. Jongdae focus his rage on him, the last remaining alpha in the room. Kyungsoo catches his wrists to stop him from hitting him, holding them firmly but loose enough not to hurt the enraged omega.

“Don’t even think about it, alpha.” Jongdae says. “Don’t you dare touch him.”

“Jongdae, enough.” he says softly. “No one’s going to hurt him. Nothing’s going to happen. Everything’s going to be alright.” He keeps his tone gentle, trying to calm Jongdae down. He wants nothing more than to pull him into his arms and hug him until the omega feels safe once again. But he knows that Jongdae doesn’t equate the arms of anyone with safety, let alone an alpha who he doesn’t even know. He lets him tug himself free and backtrack until there’s some distance between them.

Kyungsoo holds his hands up in front of him. “It’s okay, Jongdae. I won’t let anything happen to Jongin.”

He watches as Jongdae heaves in deep breaths, but it seems like his words, if not his meek demeanor, have finally reached Jongdae. He calms down, but he doesn’t let himself relax fully. He still eyes Kyungsoo warily, still untrusting of him.

“Just stay here, take care of him. He’s probably lost and scared.” Kyungsoo tries to appeal to that maternal instinct that he knows is ingrained in every omega. “Please, Jongdae, he shouldn’t have to do this alone.”

Jongdae blinks at his use of the word “please.” He’s probably never heard it from an alpha before.

“Can you do that for me?” Kyungsoo asks. “Can you take care of him?”

“Stay away,” is all Jongdae says. But Kyungsoo knows that he’s reached him. The fight goes out of him, even if he still keeps himself between Kyungsoo and Jongin.

“I’ll get some supplies together for you two.” Kyungsoo says. He turns and opens the door just enough to slip through without letting too much of Jongin’s scent escape. “Don’t worry,” he says when it’s just his head left in the room. “Everything’s going to be okay. You’re safe now.”

-

The first thing he does is make sure that Sehun is alright. He finds him on a couch in the lobby of the motel, Yixing sitting next to him rubbing his back in giant circles, Joonmyun standing watch over them. The kid is distraught, and probably more than just a little heart broken. But that’s the least of his worries at the moment. He catches Joonmyun’s eyes and beckons him over to give him instructions about seeing to it that their men get home today. He doesn’t want to delay everyone else just because of Jongin.

With that done, he sets off to gather supplies for Jongdae and Jongin. Water, sport drinks, fruit, nuts; he gets things that are easy yet give him the most bang for his buck. Jongin doesn’t have an alpha to help him through his heat, and he doesn’t think Jongdae will be stepping in to fill in, not with how strongly Jongdae feels about everything. It means Jongin won’t have a lot of down time when he’s lucid enough replenish his body. Jerky would be good too, the thin kind, but he can’t find any right now so he’ll get some later.

He quickly delivers the items to Jongdae, making sure to announce himself before he uses his room key to enter. Jongdae looks him in the eye and thanks him. Even without the words, his gratitude is hard to miss. He can see genuineness of it in the sheen that’s in his eyes. Kyungsoo smiles and nods his head in reply. He carefully gathers up any belongings that he and the others have left behind before slipping back outside.

Standing outside the door, memories of Chanyeol’s first heat come to his mind. They’d spent almost a whole week together in his friend’s bedroom before it had finally broken. Without an alpha, who knows how long Jongin’s will be. But one thing’s for sure, Kyungsoo won’t let any alpha take the boy. Not this heat, and maybe not his next either, depending on how well the two pups work out their issues. But call him selfish, because it’s not really Jongin and Sehun that he’s thinking about. It’s Jongdae that he cares about. If he lets anyone take the omega, Jongdae will look at Kyungsoo as no better than the alphas he saved him from.

Damned if Kyungsoo would let that happen. So he’s going to protect both of them, Jongdae and Jongin. Because he’ll do whatever it takes to earn the omega’s love.

-

Joonmyun leaves with the rest of the men that day, taking them all home. It’s a bittersweet moment for Kyungsoo as he and Yixing stand there saluting the bus as it leaves the parking lot. They’ve endured so much together. He handpicked them, each and every one. To not be able to take the final stage of their journey home together makes him a little sad. But he won’t hold them up any longer. They’ve served him well and deserve to go home to their families. Joonmyun will see them safely back to headquarters and then see to it that they are disbanded properly.

What’s more important is making sure that Jongin gets through his first heat in safety. It takes an agonizing ten days before it breaks. He’d heard of first heats being the worst an omega will ever experience, but ten days is a long time. By day seven, Kyungsoo had been tempted to give in and let Sehun into the room, damn the consequences that would result from that. But Yixing had assured him that everything was normal, nothing to be alarmed about. But what did he know, he was only a medic not a doctor.

Jongdae was by Jongin’s side for almost every second of his heat. The poor thing almost worked himself to the bone taking care of him. Despite reassurances that Yixing was already mated and wouldn’t do anything to Jongin, Kyungsoo had to order the omega to let Yixing take a turn at Jongin’s side so that he could see to it that the omega took care of himself too. He wound up spoon feeding Jongdae real meals so that he could keep his strength up.

He wished that he could order him to sleep as well. By day six he’d been so exhausted he feared the dark circles under his eyes would never go away. But that’s something that no alpha can do, because even if they order someone to lay in bed and close their eyes, sleep is not something that comes on command, no matter how strong the alpha.

Sehun hadn't slept well, nor did he eat well either. The newly presented alpha was heartbroken at how he had reacted to Jongin’s presenting. He spent most of the time moping about. Kyungsoo wished that Joonmyun was still there. Sehun had taken a liking to him and would no doubt respond better to the mothering alpha. But Joonmyun wasn't here, so the task fell to Kyungsoo.

“I'm sorry, Sir,” Sehun had said one night as they got ready to turn in. “I didn't mean to screw everything up. I didn't mean to be so weak.”

The last part was barely recognizable through the heart wrenching sobs that escaped him. Kyungsoo turned to look at him and saw that Sehun had fallen to his knees, a sign of submission and humility. He quickly moved to wrap his arms around the young alpha and pull him in for a tight embrace. He couldn't hug Jongdae, so he hugged the hell out of his brother instead, gently patting his back in a way that he’s seen mothers do to their babies.

“It’s okay,” Kyungsoo whispered. “I know you didn’t mean it. Everything’s going to be alright.”

Sehun had shaken his head even as he buried it against Kyungsoo’s throat. “No, it won’t. I ruined everything. Jongdae hates me. And Jongin’s going to hate me too. It’s all my fault.” Between his heaving sobs and gasps for air, he could barely get the words out.

“Enough,” Kyungsoo had said. “Everything is going to be alright.”

It took a long time before Sehun calmed down that night. Kyungsoo ended up climbing into bed with the boy to hold him until he fell into a fitful slumber. So many words died on the tip of his tongue. But it didn't matter, for nothing short of hearing such words from Jongin and Jongdae themselves would make Sehun believe it.

By the end of it, Kyungsoo is exhausted himself. The weight of taking care of his three charges and his medic was infinitely harder than having to command his whole company. It was the feelings, Kyungsoo reasoned. Feelings complicated everything so much more. But his heart ached for his omega, not that he would ever say such words of ownership out loud anytime soon. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around Jongdae and protect him from every evil this world had to offer. He only hoped that Jongdae would come to trust him enough to let him.

-

Kyungsoo lets himself into Jongdae and Jongin’s room and the first thing he notes is the staleness of the heat pheromones filling the air. It's still present in the room, weaker minded people would probably call it overpowering, but they are old, the remnants of a heat that is finally over. He walks over to the window and throws it open. He probably should have just opened it just a little, let the scent of Jongin’s heat slowly escape. But after ten days he's gotten to know the clientele of the motel pretty well and knows there aren't any alphas who would pose a threat at the moment.

There was group of them a few days ago. But they hadn't made any move to investigate the whiffs of Jongin in the air, not after Kyungsoo and Yixing had done some rather impressive military exercises out in the parking lot the morning after their arrival. It had been a display of power, and the alphas had wisely payed heed to it.

Jongdae and Jongin were asleep on the bed, dead to the world. After the ordeal they'd just been through Kyungsoo couldn't fault them. He set about cleaning up the room some, gathering up the empty bottles and empty food wrappings. He tried to be as quiet as possible, but Jongdae hears him anyway. The omega was a particularly light sleeper, a consequence of his time spent chained up, Kyungsoo supposes.

“Good morning,” Kyungsoo says. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Jongdae’s answer is soft and tired. “It's over,” he states the obvious.

Kyungsoo nods his head, but he doesn't say anything else. He just continues cleaning up.

He can feel Jongdae’s eyes follow him as he works. He fights the urge to turn and meet his eyes. But he knows that the moment they meet Jongdae would immediately bow his head in submission no matter what Kyungsoo said or what expression he wore. Eight years of conditioning won't be overcome in less than a month, so Kyungsoo lets himself be content with the fact the omega seems to be getting comfortable with his presence at least.

“I'm sorry for delaying your journey home.” Jongdae says. “We can be ready to travel in a few hours.”

“That’s okay, we can wait until you and Jongin are fully rested up before we head out.”

“But you must be eager to return home.”

“I am, but it's not like it's going to disappear anytime soon.” Kyungsoo sets the bag of bottles he's gathered up next to the small trash can. He spies a box that he’d set on the dresser on the second day of Jongin's heat. Kyungsoo hadn't told either of them about it and it's still untouched. He takes it and turns to face Jongdae.

As predicted, his eyes immediately turn downwards. “I got these for you.” Kyungsoo says. “I hope you like them.”

He walks over just close enough to hand the box to Jongdae before he retreats a few steps. He hopes the smile on his face is comforting like it's meant to be. Jongdae takes a few moments before he lifts the top off the box.

Kyungsoo sees more than hears the small gasp that Jongdae lets out, and he watches as he runs his fingers over the brand new pair of shoes he'd gotten for the omega. “Do you want to try them on?”

Jongdae nods his head. He moves to let his legs hang over the edge of the bed while Kyungsoo moves to kneel at his bare feet. He forgot to pick up socks for the omega, but he's just trying them on, so it doesn't matter much anyway.

Moments later the black shoes with white stitching and accents adorn Jongdae's feet. Kyungsoo liked the way they look the moment he saw them; thought they'd be perfect for Jongdae. Seeing them on him, the way they show off his ankles, he can't help but feel that he was right. He makes a note that when he goes to pick up socks later today it should be the no show kind.

“How do they feel?” he asks.

Jongdae flexes his toes a bit and stands to his feet. “Good,” he answers. “How did you know my size.”

“From when I gave you a foot massage by the stream. I just asked for a bunch of sizes and held them in my hands until I found one that felt right.” Kyungsoo mimes the action as he answers. In hindsight that sounded a bit creepier aloud than it did in his head. He stands up to give Jongdae space. “Walk around a bit,” he says, hoping to focus the attention back on the shoes.

Jongdae does two laps around the small motel room. “They’re perfect,” he says. But his eyes are uncertain, as if he's thinking too hard about something. Slowly, Jongdae approaches him and Kyungsoo starts to back away when he gets too close. But then his legs hit the bed, he ends up sitting on it since he can't move back any further.

Jongdae gets to his knees in front of Kyungsoo and he reaches out a hand to reach for his belt.

Kyungsoo scrambles back and nearly falls off the other side of the bed. How Jongin didn't wake up from all the movement was beyond him, but somehow he slept on.

“What are you doing?” Kyungsoo nearly shouts.

Jongdae bows his head immediately. “I'm sorry, Sir. I was trying to pay you back for the shoes.”

“You don't have to pay me back like that.”

“But I don't have any other way to do so.”

Kyungsoo realizes the mistake in his words and quickly rounds the bed to pull the omega to his feet and into a hug. “You don't have to pay me back at all. They were a gift Jongdae. A gift from me to you.”

It takes a while before Kyungsoo recognizes that Jongdae is as stiff as a board in his arms. Realizing he’s probably scaring the omega right now he lets go and takes a step back. There are tears in Jongdae’s eyes. Whether from fear or gratitude, it's hard to tell.

“It's been a long time since an alpha has given me a gift.” Jongdae says.

“That can't be true.” Kyungsoo says, searching for a way to help Jongdae feel better. “I'm sure Sehun has given you lots of gifts over the years.”

“He wasn't an alpha then,” Jongdae says, a hint of sadness to his voice.

Kyungsoo nods his head. No Sehun wasn't an alpha then, but he was still much the same person now as he was back then. “He’s not taking this all very well,” he says. “He blames himself, for everything.”

“It's not his fault,” Jongdae says, immediately coming to his brother’s defense.

“I know, and I've told him as much. But it's not me he needs to hear it from.”

He watches as Jongdae brings his arms up around himself, a sorry excuse for self-soothing when Kyungsoo wants it to be his arms that wrap themselves around the omega.

“I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused,” says Jongdae. “I didn't mean for any of it.”

“I know,” Kyungsoo says. He takes a calculated risk and slowly approaches Jongdae, opening his arms wide so that Jongdae has no reason not to know what's about to happen and every opportunity to refuse it if he so wished. “Don't you worry, everything is going to be alright.”

Kyungsoo slowly wraps Jongdae into a hug, keeping his hold loose so that he could break free of it at any time. He considers it a small victory that Jongdae just stays there for a while. Then Jongin finally begins to stir, and the spell is broken.


	3. Waxing Moon

Kyungsoo lets them rest two whole days before they finally leave for home. And now that the crisis of Jongin’s heat is over, they finally find someone with the right tools to cut the metal collar off of Jongdae’s neck. It’s a strange feeling, not having the weight around his neck. There are also scars from where it had dug into his skin and made him bleed at various times during the eight years he’d worn it. Some are his own fault, from when he'd tried to shift into his wolf despite knowing the collar wouldn't fit his wolf form. But most are from men pulling at it as they used him. He can't help but feel self-conscious about them. He covers it up with a handkerchief before Kyungsoo gives him a leather choker instead.

He tried to get some alone time with his brother, but the newly presented alpha made himself scarce whenever Jongdae ventured out of his room, and he certainly wasn't going to enter the room where the two omegas were either. But Jongdae could tell that the separation was hurting Jongin. The young omega was dealing with a lot. Not only was he a newly presented omega - practically a death sentence in their home village – but he'd been uprooted from said village and everyone he'd ever known. There was also no denying that Jongin was in love with his brother, and if Jongdae looked at all the facts, Sehun was in love with Jongin as well.

It's not the first time that Jongdae wishes they had all been born in a different village. But it's the first time he does so for reasons that are purely for people other than himself. He ends up begging Yixing to do something. Even if Sehun and he didn't mend their relationship, he couldn't bear to see the two young wolves in so much pain. He probably should have asked Kyungsoo, but he’s still wary of the man. It’s not that Kyungsoo makes him feel threatened. He’d long since ruled out that feeling, no matter what burns in the alpha’s gaze when their eyes meet. It’s the fact that he can’t pin down what the alpha makes him feel that unsettles him.

In the end, it’s Kyungsoo who came through for him anyway. Yixing had been unable to coax Sehun into calling on Jongin. But upon witnessing his continued stubbornness, Kyungsoo had simply ordered him to make a visit to their room. Even before presenting, Sehun had been stubborn. As an alpha in his own right, Jongdae had no doubt that stubbornness would be even worse. And yet a single command from Kyungsoo had him knocking on the door to see Jongin.

Jongdae had been the one to answer the door, but he’d left soon after letting Sehun in. One broken relationship at a time, he figured. He and Sehun were brothers. Well, half-brothers, really. But it would still take more than thoughtless words spilled in the midst of a heated moment to tear them apart. They’d already lived through hell together, they’d get over this too, somehow, someway.

He’d ended up waiting them out in the alphas’ motel room. They’d taken so long that Jongdae had ended up falling asleep on the chair only to wake the next morning in a bed. It smelled like freshly laundered linen, but there were just enough hints of the same scent that lingered in the bedroll he’d used in the woods that he knew it was the bed Kyungsoo had used. Seemed the alpha was making a habit out of letting Jongdae steal his bed. But Jongdae woke so refreshed that he didn’t spare it a second thought.

That had been this morning. Now, they were on the road in a borrowed seven-passenger van. Barring any unforeseen incidents, they should arrive at Kyungsoo’s family estate sometime in the late afternoon.

Still exhausted from his ordeal, Jongin was sprawled out across the rearmost seat, lulled to sleep by the movement of the vehicle. Yixing was also passed out in the front passenger’s seat. He was supposed to be serving as Kyungsoo’s navigator, but Jongdae figured that the alpha knew the way to his own home. He sat behind the wheel, perfectly in control of the van and its passengers.

That left Jongdae and Sehun in the two bucket seats in the middle. Apart from a few glances at each other, the two brothers did little else during the trip except stare out their respective windows. Some would say the silence in the van was peaceful, and it certainly might have been in the front or in the back. But in the middle, between Jongdae and Sehun, it was stifling. Jongdae searched for a way to end it, but years of being silent and waiting for alphas and betas to speak to him first kept him silent. Even still, Jongdae could sense Kyungsoo watching them in the rearview mirror, willing one of them to break the silence. A rare shift in Jongdae’s gaze brings his eyes to meet Kyungsoo’s own piercing ones in the mirror. He gives Jongdae a subtle nod, as if telling him that he could do it.

Well, Jongdae was the older brother. Maybe he should be the one to end the awkwardness. Jongin and Sehun had certainly seemed to work it out between them.

“I’m sorry,” Jongdae says quietly.

Sehun makes no indication that he heard Jongdae, but he knows he heard him anyway. Kyungsoo had the radio tuned to a classical station to help Jongin sleep, hardly enough to drown out Jongdae’s voice.

“I’m sorry,” he says again. “I wasn’t thinking straight and I said a lot of things that I didn’t mean. I know that you’re not like the alphas and betas back home. It’s just…”

Even if Jongdae knew what he wanted to say, it’s still hard to get the words out anyway. There’s a lot of feelings behind the words. Feelings that he’s pushed down for years and years, things that he’d never said out loud despite thinking them over and over in his mind. But Sehun deserves the words, he alone out of every other person in the world deserves the words.

Jongdae steels himself, resolving to see this through to the end. Something within him knows that he is never going back to the village that stole his innocence. And though it will take probably take him years before he can get over it, he wants to leave as much of it behind as possible. But that’s never going to happen if he can’t even bring himself to face it. He takes in a deep breath, stares down and his hands in his lap, and begins again.

“When I woke up and saw you hovering over Jongin, holding him down like that, all I could see was your father, the way he held me down the day that I presented. You look so much like him, so strong, so handsome, so… so much an alpha. He would have been proud to see the alpha you’ve become Sehunnie, and so would mom. She would definitely be proud at how you’ve grown.

“But that night, the way you held Jongin down, all I could see was your father. And all I could think about was how he raped me, how he knotted me, how he stole my… It’s been eight years and yet sometimes it’s like it was just yesterday. I couldn’t let you do that to him, I couldn’t let you take him without his permission, even if he would have begged you to take him during his heat. It’s just not the same… just… it’s not the same.”

His view of his hands blur as tears spilled from his eyes, but he didn’t move to wipe them. He couldn’t afford to stop now, because now that he’s started he needs to finish, else he might never get the chance to ever again. “You’re nothing like the alphas and betas back home. You’re kind, and gentle, and good, and just filled with so much love. I can see how much Jongin means to you, how much… you love him. Jongin is so lucky to have you, I know… I know that… you’ll treat him right. I know…”

Jongdae’s voice finally fails him and he succumbs to the silent sobs he’s managed to hold back for so long. He’s vaguely aware of Sehun unbuckling his seatbelt to cross over and enfold him in a fierce hug. Sehun smells different now, still the same yet different now that it’s tinged by the musk of an alpha. It’s comforting, knowing that the brother that’s always been there for him as best as he could is still there for him, that their relationship wasn’t ruined because of careless words. Jongdae lets it all out; the tears, the sobs, the anguish, the pain, the memories. And through it all Sehun just holds him, hugging him, whispering apologies of his own, and assurances that everything would be okay, that no one would ever hurt him again.

How long they stay that way Jongdae isn’t sure, but it’s not until they feel the car begin to slow down that they break apart. Both Jongin and Yixing wake up as Kyungsoo navigates off of the expressway and into the city. Jongdae figures it must be something about how the vibrations of the car get interrupted by the stop and go of stop lights and intersections.

“I have to pee,” Jongin says from his spot in the back.

“Okay,” comes Kyungsoo’s reply. He quickly navigates to a gas station and they file out of the van to stretch their legs. Just before Jongdae gets out of the van his eyes once again find Kyungsoo’s in the rearview mirror. There’s a sheen to his eyes as he gives Jongdae a sad smile and a nod. The alpha had heard every word that he and Sehun had said. How could he not have? The thought that Kyungsoo knows exactly what Jongdae has been through doesn’t make Jongdae uneasy. If anything, he’s grateful because now he won’t have to do a repeat performance for the alpha.

But the look in the alpha’s eyes doesn’t change, if anything it’s only grown deeper. Jongdae only wished he knew what it was.

-

“Kyungsoo! You’re home!” A tall and handsome omega rushed out the front door and down the steps of Kyungsoo’s family home before Kyungsoo had even brought the van to a complete stop. He raced around the front of the van, flung open the driver’s door and would have strangled Kyungsoo had he not been quick enough to unbuckle his seatbelt in time. Even still, the omega picked him up and swung him round in the air a few times as if the alpha was a mere child.

“Chanyeol, put me down,” Kyungsoo says, but there’s laughter in his voice. Thankfully, the gentle giant sets him down before his clumsy nature gets the best of him. The others climb out of the van at a more normal pace.

“Sorry,” Chanyeol says, despite not seeming the least bit sorry. “I’m just really excited to see you. You’ve been gone forever. When they said you were going to be delayed a little I didn’t think it be two whole weeks!”

“You’d think I was gone for years,” says Kyungsoo.

“You were gone a whole summer,” comes Chanyeol’s whine.

“You let him to suffer his heat alone,” says a new voice as its owner descended the front stairs at a leisurely pace.

Well that came out rather fast, Kyungsoo thought. He can’t help but look over to see Jongdae’s reaction, except, well, there isn’t one. Just a blank face that Jongdae has no doubt spent years perfecting. With an inward sigh he turns to his brother, the unknowing divulger of secrets. But it wasn’t a secret. It just wasn’t the first thing that Kyungsoo wanted Jongdae to learn about him upon his arrival.

“Welcome home, Kyungsoo. Glad to see you’re in one piece.”

“Good to see the same is true of you, dear brother.” Kyungsoo said, inflecting a formalness to his tone. “I trust the restructuring is going well?”

“Ha!” Minseok laughs. “Don’t even pretend that you’re interested in such things. We both know you’d rather run back to whatever little towns you’ve been romping through this past summer than work in a Ministry.”

“Not all of them,” Kyungsoo mutters. But Minseok is close enough to hear him anyway, and he couldn’t help it if his face fell a little as well. Lupa willing, Kyungsoo would never again set foot into that no named village he’d rescued Jongdae from. Damned if any of them would.

It made Minseok pause for a moment, but his skills at maneuvering social situations let him continue on as if nothing had happened. He turned to face the other occupants of the van now fully assembled outside. “Yixing, good to see you as well. Baekhyun nearly threw a fit when I told him you’d been delayed.” Minseok pulled the old family friend into a hug.

“So I heard,” Yixing says as they pull back. “He nearly shouted my ear off through the phone.”

Minseok chuckled and moved onto the next person. “Hello, I’m Minseok, that grouch of a wolf’s other brother.” He used a tick of his head to indicate Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo should probably be annoyed at being called a grouch, but it wasn’t anything new. He watched as Minseok introduced himself to both Jongin and Sehun in turn, shaking their hands in greeting. But as he moved to turn his attention to Jongdae, Kyungsoo saw the fear rise up within the omega.

He instantly moved to place himself between Jongdae and his brother, as did Sehun. The movements shocked Minseok, who found himself eyeing Sehun and Kyungsoo in turn. Truth be told, Sehun’s action was understandable. Minseok was a strange alpha moving in on an omega. It was Kyungsoo’s movement that was characteristically out of place.

Minseok’s eyes went back and forth between Kyungsoo, Sehun, and Jongdae before settling on Jongdae. Kyungsoo saw them start to twinkle as if he’d figured something out. He pulled his hand back and straightened as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. “You must be Jongdae,” he said, dipping his head a bit in greeting. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“You have?” That’s news to Kyungsoo. He certainly hadn’t said much about Jongdae to Minseok over the phone. In fact, other than their names, Kyungsoo had said nothing else about the three wolves he’d rescued.

“Yes” Minseok said. “Your second, Joonmyun, is a very thorough man. An excellent find, if I may say so.”

“I’m not so sure find is the right word, but yes he’s an excellent worker.”

“I’ve offered him a position in the Ministry, since I know you would turn me down anyway. He should be here sometime before the end of the week. But come, you must all be tired from your drive.”

Minseok turned and led the way up the stairs and into the manor. “I’m afraid that we’re a little tight on space at the moment. We’ve just started working on the main guest rooms again.”

“Is anyone occupying my guest room?” Kyungsoo asks.

“No.”

“Jongin and Sehun can use that, and Jongdae can have my bed.” Kyungsoo solves the problem quickly. It’s no doubt a consequence of having to lead during the war.

His answer causes both Minseok and Chanyeol to trip over the steps. “Your bed?” Chanyeol asks, whipping around with his eyes wide in disbelief.

“Yes, my bed.” Kyungsoo says, he doesn’t see why it’s such cause for surprise.

“But, you never…” Minseok trails off as if Kyungsoo should know the reason for himself.

Except, of course, he doesn’t. He starts up the stairs again. “Come on,” he says, “I'm hungry.”

-

Jongdae’s head hurt. He would blame it on being thrust into a new environment yet again. But it was probably the long ride, he wasn't used to riding in a vehicle.

He hadn't known what to expect when they arrived at Kyungsoo’s home. He'd known Kyungsoo came from money, the way he carried himself spoke to such affluence. But he hadn't thought he'd be this wealthy, wealthy enough to have dozens of rooms in the house. Minseok didn't have a set of rooms to call his own, he lived in the main area of the house with their father. But Kyungsoo had an entire suite of rooms in the manor; a bedroom, bathroom, guest room, office, and a sitting room. It had once been a guest suite before their grandfather had remodeled to add the current guest rooms, rooms that were currently under remodel yet again.

Jongdae learned all of this from Chanyeol. The omega was a bundle of sunshine and energy, so much so that it seemed his body had a hard time containing it all. He seemed like an easy guy to like, but that comment about Kyungsoo and him didn't settle right in Jongdae. It made him feel… jealous, if he had to pick a word for it. And he shouldn't feel jealous. Kyungsoo was obviously a desirable alpha. Of course he would have an omega waiting for him, maybe even more than one.

After giving them a quick tour of the main areas of the house, the alphas had been called away to tend to some business, something about paperwork to properly discharge them all from service. This left Chanyeol to settle Jongdae, Sehun and Jongin into the house.

The way Chanyeol navigated the halls spoke to a familiarity that could only have come from years of walking the halls of the manor. And though he could have gotten one of the maids to ready the beds for them, he did so himself, pulling open closets for fresh sheets and linens. All the while rambling on as if they had been friends for years.

“You seem rather close to the Do’s,” remarked Jongin during a rare lull in the conversation.

Despite telling himself the answer didn't matter, Jongdae knew it did. Something within him wanted to know just how close the omega was to Kyungsoo.

“Of course!” came Chanyeol’s reply. “Our families own neighboring estates and have been friends for years. I grew up with Minseok and Kyungsoo since before I can even remember. The stories that I could tell you about them.”

Chanyeol proceeded to ramble on as he finished changing the bedding on the bed in Kyungsoo’s guest room, telling them all about how everyone had thought Kyungsoo would turn out to be an omega, even Kyungsoo himself. He'd even tried to gain the affections of an alpha during his high school years only to surprise everyone and turn out to be an alpha himself.

“Of course,” continued Chanyeol, “I always knew Kyungsoo was an alpha. I told everyone so, but they wouldn't listen. Said he was too quiet, too cute, too small. Should have listened to me.”

He finished with a pat on the bed for good measure, a perfectly made up bed with corners a military general would be proud of. “Well Jongdae, let’s let these two pups to settle in and you can follow me to Kyungsoo’s room.”

They leave the two to themselves, protests of them no longer being pups on Sehun’s lips. The two are a still a bit awkward around each other, as if they’re too afraid of making a mistake. But Jongdae figures it’s something they need to work out for themselves so he just follows after Chanyeol to Kyungsoo’s room. Chanyeol walks in as if he's been it hundred times before, like he sort of belongs in it. Jongdae finds himself pausing just outside the door, wondering if Chanyeol actually does.

“I'm sorry,” Jongdae says quietly.

The unprompted apology makes Chanyeol turn around and look at him with puzzlement in his face. “For what?” he asks.

“You and Kyungsoo, you must have had other ideas of what you’d be doing once he returned home. I'm sure tending to someone like me wasn't one of them.”

“What are you talking about?” Chanyeol says as he turns to busy himself with fluffing up bed and pillows. He doesn't change the sheets though, probably because the maids have done so already in preparation for his return.

“Me,” Jongdae answers, still standing at the threshold of the room. “You didn't count on Kyungsoo bringing me home and into your bed.”

Chanyeol turns around to face Jongdae so quickly he actually loses his footing in the area rug under the large four post bed. “What are you talking about?” he sputters out.

“You and Kyungsoo,” Jongdae says.

Chanyeol waves both of his arms across his chest, as if the large movements make his denial all the more official. “Kyungsoo and I are not a thing. We’re not together.”

“But, your heat. Minseok said…”

“Okay yes,” Chanyeol admits, “Kyungsoo and I are, or at least we were, heat buddies because you know how bad it is to go through those by yourself. But there is absolutely nothing between us more than just friendship. He's practically like a brother to me, I could never let him claim me.

“Besides, that's all in the past now. It won't happen again.” Chanyeol finishes.

“Why not?” Jongdae says.

“Because, silly,” Chanyeol walks across the expanse of the room to pull Jongdae past the threshold and sit him on the bed. “Now he has you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.” Chanyeol says, sitting down next to him and holding Jongdae’s hands gently in his own large ones. “He wants you.”

That’s not a word that means much to Jongdae, not after everything that he's been through. In fact, want is a word that means very little to him. Every man that has ever taken him has wanted him, and yet they chained him up like an animal to be used for their pleasures at their whims. No, want is not a word that Jongdae wants to hear. But Chanyeol doesn't know that, so Jongdae pushes down the emotions that the word brings.

“Yixing tells me he gave you his own bedroll while you were out in the woods. And when you fell asleep on a chair in the motel room Kyungsoo carried you to his bed. And now he's giving you his own bed.

“Maybe you can't see it because you haven't known him for very long. But I can see it as plain as day.” Chanyeol smiles, and Jongdae can tell he's trying to lighten the mood. “Kyungsoo never gives up his bed, let alone shares it with someone. Hell, even when we helped each other through our heats and ruts, it was either my bed or the guest bedroom. But never this one.”

Maybe it's his headache, but Jongdae doesn't manage to be very successful at keeping the emotions at bay, despite his years of practice. “He doesn't want someone like me,” he says. “I'm dirty, and I'm broken.”

Chanyeol shakes his head. “You’re wrong-”

“No Chanyeol.” Jongdae raises his voice. “You're wrong. You don't know anything about me.”

Jongdae pulls his hands from Chanyeol’s grasp and takes off the leather choker Kyungsoo had given him. He watches as Chanyeol’s eyes go wide and hears the gasp of surprise that escapes his mouth before Chanyeol can stop himself. “I'm used, Chanyeol. No alpha will ever want me, not in the way that you're talking about.”

Omegas don't do good with too many changes at once. Everyone knows that, the alphas used to drill it into him as they forced him onto their knots. With all the changes he's been through lately, Chanyeol telling him that Kyungsoo wants him, wants a future with him is like the final grain of sand that sends the fragile tower that his Jongdae’s emotions into a collapse. “I don't know how you were treated as an omega, but let me tell you how I was.”

It all comes spilling out of Jongdae, his entire life’s story boiled down to a thirty-minute rant. Later on he’ll wonder what possessed him to spill it all to someone he’s only just met. But right now, he spills it all out. Every pent up emotion, every stored up pain, every silent prayer, and every heartbreaking despair.

He even tells Chanyeol something he's never told anyone else before. “With all the knots I've taken, people say it's a miracle I haven't born some alpha a litter of pups. But it is no miracle. They took that away from me.”

There is no way to be truly certain, but Jongdae knows the truth deep in his bones. They could be no one else’s. “When my stepfather took my virginity he left me pregnant. Sixteen, newly presented, and pregnant; he left me chained up to a fur-covered hut for every other man to use as he deemed fit. If it wasn’t some dick up my hole than it was a fist on my body.”

Jongdae slips off the bed and to the floor, it somehow seems more fitting to curl up on himself on the floor than Kyungsoo’s pristine bed. He’s nothing more than trash anyway, unfit to warm the bed of any alpha of good standing. “They never even stopped to wonder why I was always sick, why I couldn’t hold anything down in my stomach. They told me I was just having a hard time adjusting to my new lot in life.

“They couldn’t have been more than three months along before I lost them. I just woke up one day and knew that they weren’t there anymore, that they were nothing more than empty shells within me.

Chanyeol slides off bed to join Jongdae on the floor, pulling the omega into a hug. Chanyeol is large enough to make Jongdae feel safe and comforted, and Jongdae can feel himself regaining the grip that he’d attempted to get on his emotions.

“There was three of them,” he whispers. “I couldn’t even give them a proper burial.”

Chanyeol just holds him tight and lets a comforting silence settle between them. “I don’t know what to say,” he whispered after some time, but other than that admission he says nothing, letting Jongdae mourn what could have been. Even if they would have been born of unwanted circumstances, Jongdae would have loved each of them. They were innocent beings. He could never bring himself to hate them.

It’s a long time before Jongdae felt in control of himself again. Only then does he pull himself away from Chanyeol and stand to his feet. He retreats further into the room, walking up to the large windows that let in the light of a setting sun filtered by the towering trees that line the western side of the manor.

“Kyungsoo deserves someone better than me.” Jongdae says. “He deserves someone whole, someone who can give him pups to dote on. He deserves someone who will love him back.”

“Why can’t that be you?” Chanyeol pleads as he gets to his feet. “I know you can feel it. You can’t deny you don’t feel the pull between you two. You’re-”

But Jongdae won’t let him finish. He can’t let him finish, because his wolf is starting to piece things together. It’s better for everyone if things just stay as they are.

“No, Chanyeol. He may think he wants me. But that’s all it is. Want. He could never love someone like me.”

Jongdae turns to look out the window. “I’d like to be alone, please.” He doesn’t turn around until long after Chanyeol has left him. When he does, he lets himself take a lingering look over Kyungsoo’s room. It’s perfectly neat, everything in order. Every piece of furniture is made of dark wood and functional, not a single item there purely for decoration save for the bonsai tree sitting on the bench that serves as a coffee table in front of his couch. Jongdae finds himself liking it, imagining small changes that he might make if he were to make this room his own. But he pushes the thoughts away.

One month, maybe two. He’ll give himself two months maximum before he moves on. Despite himself, Jongdae knows Kyungsoo would be a good mate. But he deserves much better, and Jongdae deserves much less. He’ll move on to whatever he can find and let Kyungsoo get over his infatuation. Maybe one day he’ll hear news of Kyungsoo as a proud father of pups, maybe even with Chanyeol. The idea makes him sad, and he refuses to acknowledge the reason why.

-

Kyungsoo is slumped against the wall in the hallway just outside his room, his thoughts circling around in his head. The door opens and Chanyeol steps out into the hallway, the door softly closing behind him. Their eyes meet, and Kyungsoo’s legs give way and have him sliding down the wall until he’s sitting on the floor. He brings both his hands up to grasp at his hair, a sign of just how hopeless he’s feeling right now.

It had taken everything within him not to barge in and start yelling at Jongdae. He’d rushed through the paperwork to properly be discharged and then gone looking for the omega to help him get settled. He could tell he wasn’t doing too well with everything. But he’d drawn up short when he’d heard Jongdae’s outburst. And although the alpha within him wanted to go in there and show him just how much Kyungsoo wanted him, Kyungsoo had kept his wolf at bay and held back, listening to the full tale of Jongdae’s past for the first time.

Memories of the first time he’d laid eyes on Jongdae flood through his mind, at the way Jongdae had just instantly submitted to him as if he were another alpha looking to fuck him, to use and abuse him as he’d always been. His heart had ached then, and it aches even more now that he knows everything.

He knows everything and he still wants. He still needs. He still loves. His wolf had loved Jongdae on sight, and in the weeks since then the human side of Kyungsoo has fallen in love as well.

Chanyeol kneels down and gives him a soft lingering kiss on his forehead. Before he’d left, before the war, they might have kissed on the lips. It wouldn’t have meant much, just a chaste kiss between friends. But now, even after only just meeting the guy, Chanyeol can tell just how much Kyungsoo feels for Jongdae.

They’d always known that their futures were not to be at each other’s side. In a way, they’d only been keeping the spot warm for whoever came along to fill it. Jongdae had simply come along first, if Kyungsoo can find a way to get through to him.

“Fight for him,” Chanyeol whispers before standing up to leave Kyungsoo to his own thoughts. As Chanyeol leaves, Kyungsoo hopes that Chanyeol finds someone to be his soon.

-

The week that follows his return home is a blur of activity. He may not be entering a position of power in the new Alpha of alpha’s government, but since Minseok is, the responsibilities that he’d previously held in their family’s business now falls to Kyungsoo. The days are a blur of meetings and paperwork. When Joonmyun arrives he’s almost tempted to order him to take his place in family business instead of working with Minseok. But the mothering alpha would be a better fit for the Ministry of Education than an import/export business. He fits right in under Minseok. It only took one day of getting his feet wet before he operated with the same efficiency he’d shown under Kyungsoo.

It wasn't surprising, really. The two brothers were largely similar. They preferred quiet power to open displays of strength, and while their statures were on the small size, they’d both learned to use it to their advantage by putting others at ease. At least, that is, until someone crossed them. Then the brothers unleashed the fullness of their alpha presence. It was enough to make anyone think twice about underestimating them again. Joonmyun had seen foolish men do so to Kyungsoo during the war, and he’d no doubt see many more do so while working under Minseok. The only main difference between the brothers was that Minseok was more jovial whereas Kyungsoo tended to be more serious.

It disappointed Kyungsoo that he couldn’t house the alpha in his family’s manor. But with Sehun, Jongin, and Jongdae staying with them and the other guestrooms being renovated they really didn’t have room to properly house another guest. Yixing and Baekhyun were kind enough to do the honors, although truth be told, the omega wasn’t too happy to entertain a guest when all he wanted to do was make up for all those nights he’d spent alone without his mate. He too had had to spend a heat alone.

But everything seemed to work out in the end. Even if he couldn’t house the alpha, he still could have him over for dinner. He arranged a dinner with everyone important in his life: Minseok, his brother; Chanyeol, his best friend; Yixing and Baekhyun, also close friends; Joonmyun, the guest of honor; Sehun and Jongin, newly important to him because they were important to Jongdae; and Jongdae himself, the love of his life. His father would have been there too, but he’s still at the border trying to get a shipment of iron ore released from when it was embargoed during the war. At least that meant Kyungsoo had a bed to sleep in at night, even if it's not his own.

Joonmyun fits right in with everyone, as Kyungsoo knew he would. Sehun is happy to have the alpha back in his life. Kyungsoo thinks him a good role model for the young alpha. He’d already shown interest in the family business and Kyungsoo thinks with some proper education he’ll be good enough to shoulder some of the extra burden Kyungsoo’s had to take on.

But it’s Chanyeol who is most happy at Joonmyun’s arrival. The omega had arrived with a cake for dessert and complained about how he’d smeared the frosting by accidentally smooshing the top of the box while he’d carried it in from his car. Mid-sentence, he’d stopped abruptly, took a deep breath of the air in the room, and turned to stare at the new alpha. He’d blushed so deeply that even the tips of his ears had turned red.

Even if Chanyeol had recognized Kyungsoo’s feelings for Jongdae and told him to fight for him, it was still hard for Kyungsoo not to feel bad about it. But watching Chanyeol react to Joonmyun’s presence, Kyungsoo had to hold in a chuckle. Maybe Chanyeol’s side wouldn’t be empty for long. It was a comforting thought, and eased the worry in his mind about leaving his best friend behind to find his own happiness.

The two end up leaving together on the premise of getting to know each other better. But right before they leave, Joonmyun pulls Kyungsoo aside, his face drawn into a frown.

“How is Jongdae doing?” he asks. “Is he settling in okay?”

“He seems fine. He hasn’t complained. He and Jongin go out and explore the city during the day.”

“He’s job hunting, Kyungsoo. Not to mention he’s looked at a few apartments too.”

The news surprises Kyungsoo, but it’s not exactly unexpected. He’d suspected Jongdae to try and make a run from him sometime. He just didn’t think he’d do it so soon. “Oh,” is all he manages to say.

But there’s a look on Joonmyun’s face. Kyungsoo knows that look from their time in the war. It’s his I-have-more-I-want-to-say-but-it-really-isn’t-my-place-to-say-it face. Kyungsoo’s learned to let Joonmyun have his say, because at the end of the day, Joonmyun has a good head on his shoulder.

“What is it?” he asks.

“Can’t you sense it?” Joonmyun answers.

“Say it plainly,” Kyungsoo replies back. He’s not one to dance around a subject. He wants to know exactly what they’re talking about.

“Jongdae’s going into heat.” Joonmyun says so quietly it's like a whisper.

Kyungsoo feels himself blanch as Joonmyun continues. “It’s not very strong, and but I’m pretty sure it’s coming. I’m surprised you haven’t caught on yet. I mean, you were pretty quick to figure out Jongin’s first heat, and those are always impossible to predict.”

“I’ve been busy,” is all Kyungsoo can say.

Chanyeol interrupts them before either of them can say more. Joonmyun’s face lights up in a smile as he offers the omega his arm. Chanyeol takes it with a smile of his own. Kyungsoo thinks they look a little funny as he sees them out the door. A tall, gangly omega with an alpha that’s shorter than him. But then again, that’s what he and Chanyeol must have looked like before, and Kyungsoo has to admit that they fit together better than he and Chanyeol ever would.

He squares himself to go looking for Jongdae and finds him helping to clear the dinner table. Asking Jongdae if his heat was coming up had to be one of the most awkward moments of Kyungsoo’s life. The omega had started at him for a good minute before deciding to answer him. All the while Kyungsoo had to resist the urge to fidget like a little pup. He was an alpha, strong and in control of himself, he’d had to tell himself.

Jongdae’s answer had not set him at ease. The consequence of constantly being knotted and repeatedly taken against his will had played havoc on his own hormones. The poor omega’s own heat cycle had never settled into a predictable pattern, nor has he ever been able to sense their onset.

It doesn’t bode well on Kyungsoo’s conscious. If the omega was going into heat, well that’s going to make things all the more complicated. He hopes it isn’t true.

But for the second time in a month, Kyungsoo’s prayers to Lupa to hold back an impending heat go ignored. It hits Jongdae not even three days later with all the speed of a lightning bolt. Minseok had taken Sehun and Jongin out to volunteer at the hospital Baekhyun worked at. Jongdae had declined the offer to go along, wanting his brother and Jongin to get over whatever roadblocks they were still stumbling over. Upon coming home early that afternoon, Kyungsoo had surprised Jongdae in the library while he’d been standing atop a stool to reach the top of a bookshelf.

The startled omega fell. Luckily, Kyungsoo’s quick reflexes let him rush across the room in time to catch Jongdae in his arms. But that’s when it hit, the moment Jongdae looked up at Kyungsoo to thank him.

Jongdae’s suddenly so worked up he can barely breathe and Kyungsoo has to cradle the omega’s head against his neck so that he can inhale Kyungsoo’s alpha scent. But Jongdae struggles against it with every fiber of his being, trying to get away from Kyungsoo. But Kyungsoo’s grip is strong. He holds Jongdae tight, bringing a hand to Jongdae’s head to hold his nose close to where he knows his scent is the strongest.

It calms him down, but only slightly. When Jongdae pulls back Kyungsoo can see the fear in the omega’s eyes, he can smell the way it muddled Jongdae’s own scent in his distress. Kyungsoo quickly moves to bring him to his room, laying him down on his bed. Jongdae immediately tries to bury himself beneath the covers, anything to get away from Kyungsoo. But Kyungsoo pulls the fluffy comforter off. He’s going to overheat if he stays beneath it. He does leave the thin sheet though.

“It’s okay, Jongdae,” he whispers. “Everything’s going to be okay. Nothing’s going to happen.” He says it over and over again like a mantra. It’s almost as if it’s a reminder to himself that Jongdae doesn’t want it. That no matter what he might profess in the coming days, he doesn’t want to be taken, doesn’t want the knot that he will soon be begging for.

He won’t have sex with Jongdae. He won’t take him at all, won’t do anything that Jongdae wouldn’t approve of if he wasn’t in a heat induced haze. Even so, Kyungsoo knows just how comforting the touch of someone can be to an omega in heat. He climbs into his own bed for the first time in over a week and pulls the cocooned up Jongdae against him. “Everything’s going to be fine,” he says.

“I’m right here, love.” The term slips out without him even realizing it. And even if he did, he wouldn’t have taken it back anyway.

-

It takes a full week before Jongdae’s heat breaks. Seven long and arduous days. Kyungsoo was with him for each and every one of them. Sehun had offered to help. After all, who else had cared for Jongdae when he’d still been collared and chained to that infernal hut. But Sehun hadn’t been an alpha then. And now that Kyungsoo was in the picture, the alpha within him wouldn’t stand for anyone other than himself being the one to help him. Jongdae belonged to him and him alone. It was primal and nothing like the way a civilized person should behave, but wolves did not bow to conventions of civilization.

Jongin had offered to help too, to give Kyungsoo a chance to rest. But Kyungsoo had told him that wouldn't be necessary. Though it was far from what Jongin had meant, the idea of Kyungsoo needing a break implied he was incapable of caring for Jongdae by himself. Such a suggestion rankled Kyungsoo and he might have been a little too forceful in saying no, if the shock and tears in the young omega’s eyes had been anything to go by. But Kyungsoo didn’t care about it in the moment. His one and only concern had been for Jongdae, not the feelings of an omega who didn’t belong to him.

It was the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life. Harder than bringing himself to make his first kill during the war, and certainly harder than learning to live with himself afterwards. But Kyungsoo’s resolve not to take Jongdae is steadfast. Jongdae has had years of men taking him against his will, of them using him for their own pleasures before discarding him as nothing more than a thing. Despite every fiber of his being telling him to take and claim Jongdae, to show him just how much he loves him, Kyungsoo won't do it. Not until Jongdae chooses it for himself, not until Jongdae loves him back.

Still, he couldn't just sit there and watch Jongdae wait out his heat in pain. It was on day three that he relented and gave in just a little. He used his hands to give Jongdae the release nature made him crave. He ran them up and down the sides of Jongdae’s naked torso, teased his fingers on his nipples until they were red in anger, played with Jongdae’s hardness in slow, agonizing movements, and searched out that sweet spot within him that brought Jongdae to completion. And he used his lips to tease Jongdae’s neck, to kiss every bit of skin he could reach, and to leave marks proclaiming his territory.

In the beginning, Jongdae’s scent was continuously colored with the smell of his distress. But Jongdae eventually gave in to his touches, stopped trying to pull away. Still, he never sought them out willingly. He just laid there and let Kyungsoo do his thing, let Kyungsoo sate his desires all the while staring off into the unfocused distance.

That's probably what hurt Kyungsoo the most. The fact that although Jongdae had accepted his touches, accepted the relief that Kyungsoo offered, he wouldn't accept Kyungsoo himself. He never looked him in the eyes. Kyungsoo was sure that if he had there would have been no way he could have denied the love in them.

Somewhere between the start and the end of Jongdae’s heat, Jongdae had ceased being just an omega to him. He wasn't even Jongdae, Kyungsoo’s omega. He was simply Jongdae, the one who Kyungsoo was so irrevocably in love with.

It's early in the morning, hours before the first light of dawn, when Kyungsoo senses the haze of heat begin to dissipate from Jongdae’s scent. His heat finally over, Kyungsoo’s thoughts are brought back round to the same ones he'd had when he first laid eyes on Jongdae.

As he cradles the sleeping Jongdae to his chest, he replayed the conflicting yet coinciding feelings of fury and fear. The anger is starting to abate. The past is the past. Kyungsoo cannot go back and change the cards that Lupa has dealt him and Jongdae. But the fear is still there, mixing with a sadness at the thought that the past might just be too big of an obstacle for them to overcome.

Carefully, he lets go of Jongdae and extracts himself from his hold. He climbs out of bed and pulls the covers over Jongdae. Now that his heat is over he doesn't want him to get cold. That done, Kyungsoo grabs his gym bag and quickly and quietly packs a few items of clothing and necessities. It was a close call, and he even thinks Jongdae might have hastened it, but now that Jongdae is okay, he needs to think about himself.

He’s long gone before anyone else gets up, only the moon there to see him off.

-

It's been three days since Jongdae woke up free from the effects of his heat. He'd taken a long shower, washing away the smell of his own sweat and slick. A part of him was also sad that the scent of Kyungsoo was also washed away from him too, but he wasn't ready to go out and face the alpha again. He doesn't know what to say to him, or even what to make of what happened between them.

But he needn't have worried. Kyungsoo wasn't anywhere to be seen when Jongdae exited the room he'd been sequestered in for the last seven days. When he doesn't show himself for dinner later that evening, everyone just assumed he was catching up on work that he'd missed. But when his seat is still vacant for breakfast, Jongdae couldn't help but begin to worry. His continued absence for dinner is also unsettling, despite Minseok's attempts at claiming otherwise. He’d overheard the older alpha admitting to Yixing over the phone that Kyungsoo hadn’t been into the office since Jongdae started his heat. And his cell phone is still on the nightstand beside his bed, its battery dead since around halfway through Jongdae’s heat.

By day three, Jongdae knows something is wrong. There’s no reason for him to be avoiding his own home. Even if Jongdae had said or did something to upset him, Kyungsoo was not someone to run and hide. He would face it with all the quiet strength and power that he faced everything else in his life. There is something that Jongdae is missing, some key piece of information that he’s lacking.

Chanyeol’s unexpected visit for dinner that evening confirms Jongdae’s suspicions. He and Joonmyun arrive smelling like each other and the affectionate omega can’t help but draw up close to the alpha’s side nor stop himself from playing with Joonmyun’s fingers with his own. But the moment Jongdae walks in to join everyone at the dining table Chanyeol’s eyes go wide in surprise.

“What are you doing here?” he shouts at the top of his lungs. His outburst takes Jongdae completely by surprise, not to mention everyone else there gathering for dinner.

“He lives here, Chanyeol,” Minseok says. “Where else would he have dinner?”

“Not why are you here in the house,” Chanyeol says, his hands flailing widely to emphasize his words. “I meant why aren't you with Kyungsoo?”

“My heat ended three days ago,” Jongdae says. He blushes despite himself. He’d explained to Sehun and Jongin how Kyungsoo had never once made an attempt at knotting him throughout his heat, let alone made a move to even penetrate him. He’s pretty sure Kyungsoo had never even been naked once throughout the whole ordeal. But he knows that Minseok, Joonmyun and Chanyeol no doubt have other ideas of how events happened.

“So I’ve heard. But why aren’t you with him right now?”

“Not everyone moves as fast as you and Joonmyun,” Minseok says, an amused grin on his face.

“True,” adds Sehun. “Jongin and I share a bed, but I’m pretty sure you and Joonmyun have done way more than we ever have.”

The comment earns Sehun a smack from an embarrassed Jongin. But the look of disbelief on Chanyeol’s face he’s had since Jongdae’s appearance hasn’t left him. Instead, it’s grown more troubled.

“Actually,” Minseok says, “Kyungsoo’s been absent since Jongdae’s heat broke.” He’d paused just before saying the word absent, as if he’d been searching for the appropriate word to use.

Chanyeol’s eyes grow even larger and he turns to fixate them onto Jongdae. “But he’s in rut!” he exclaims.

Cries of “what” and “how do you know” spill from the others in the room. But Jongdae goes stock still, speechless at what Chanyeol’s just told him.

“Kyungsoo and I have helped each other through every heat and rut we had - sorry Joonmyeonie, but it’s the truth.” Chanyeol adds the last part at the growl that spills from Joonmyun’s lips. “Well, he wasn’t there for exactly every one of mine, but I’ve been there for everyone one of his. The guy’s regular like clockwork. I’m positive he’s in rut. He’s so predictable I could tell you every rut he’s going to have until the - would you stop!” Chanyeol whipped around to look at Joonmyun.

The alpha had let out pheromones meant to demonstrate his dominance and possessiveness, no doubt the consequence of Chanyeol’s admission of how intimate he and Kyungsoo had been in the past. Such arrangements seemed to be commonplace between alphas and omegas before they’d found their mates, as least in this area of the Kingdom. Even still, Joonmyun’s reaction at hearing about it is understandable. His wolf has obviously staked a claim on Chanyeol and wasn’t too thrilled at hearing about another alpha satisfying his omega. Stranger still are the similar feelings rising up within Jongdae, he feels like he could let out his own growl at the thought of Kyungsoo touching someone other than him in the way that he’d touched Jongdae only days before.

“I don’t understand,” Minseok says, confusion clearly written all over his face.

“Me either,” Chanyeol says, turning back around to look at Jongdae. “I mean, he helped you through your heat. Why aren’t you helping him through his rut?”

Jongdae’s head bows in submission, not so much because of Chanyeol, but more so because of Minseok’s displeasure. “He didn’t…I mean, we didn’t…we didn’t exactly have sex,” he breaths out.

Chanyeol’s eyes grow even wider and there’s complete silence for a brief moment as it all sinks in. He throws his hands up in defeat and slumps into a chair. “I told him to fight for you,” he says, a note resignation in his voice.

“What do you mean?” Jongdae asks.

“Do you remember what you told me that night, on your first night here?”

Jongdae nods warily, hoping Chanyeol won’t air it all out in front of everyone.

But Chanyeol has more tact than that. He doesn't even reference a single word Jongdae had said. But what he does say doesn’t make him feel any better. “He was there, Jongdae. He was outside the door and he heard everything. I told him to fight for you.”

Hearing that Kyungsoo had heard everything turns Jongdae’s stomach, makes it turn sour even if he hasn’t eaten anything yet. His legs give way and luckily there’s a chair for him to fall into. The alpha had heard everything and probably decided that he didn’t want Jongdae after all. He’d known it was going to happen eventually, known that Kyungsoo would find someone other than Jongdae to shower his affections on. Someone more worthy than Jongdae, someone who could give him a real family.

He blinks and finds himself surprised by the tears flowing from his eyes. He hadn’t even felt them coming. “I told you,” he says. It’s barely louder than a whisper, but it cuts through the quiet of the dining room like a knife. “He doesn’t want someone like me.”

“Yes he does,” says Sehun. “You know you two are made for each other. Why are you fighting this?”

“You’re wrong.”

“No Jongdae. You’re wrong.” It’s Jongin who refutes him. The omega walks over and kneels in front of Jongdae, taking his shaking hands and holding them in his own trembling ones. “Kyungsoo loves you,” he says, continuing despite Jongdae shaking his head to say no. “Anyone can see it. He looks at you with so much love and devotion that I don’t understand why you can’t see it.”

“What would you know,” Jongdae bites out. “You’re just a pup.”

Jongin actually laughs a little. “Yeah, I’m only twenty. But I’m not a pup anymore. And I know what a man looks like when he’s looking at the one he loves. It’s the way Kyungsoo looks at you, the way my dad looked at my mom before they died.”

Jongin turns to look over his shoulder and up at Sehun. “And it’s the way your brother looks at me.”

Jongdae can count on one hand the number of men who didn’t touch him while he’d been chained to the Omega Hut. Jongin’s father had been one of them. And as he looks over to his little brother, it’s only then that he sees it. It’s as plain as day. The look that Sehun is giving Jongin isn’t all that different from the one he sometimes gives Jongdae. But whereas the love Sehun had for Jongdae was of that for a brother, the love he had for Jongin was of that for a lover, for a mate. And it’s that look that Kyungsoo has worn so many times since ordering Jongdae’s release from the chain.

Deep sobs fall from Jongdae, the flux of post-heat hormones and the lingering effects of so many changes in his life playing havoc with his emotions yet again. He tightens his grip on Jongin’s hands, trying to pull himself together.

Jongdae has been free from the chain for over a month now. And yet he’s been living as if he’s still bound to it, still collared up as if he’s nothing more than a fuck-toy. But he’s not, not anymore. Kyungsoo had set him free, but it's up to him to take those steps towards freedom. A freedom that looks a lot like being held by Kyungsoo’s warm and strong arms for as long as he can.

“Where is he?” he says.

“We’ll find him,” Minseok says after a long, long while.


	4. Full Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I might have accidentally deleted a comment or two. That's what happens when you try to read them on your phone and end up dropping it. If that was you, I'm very sorry.

He’s in that weird half-awake but still half-asleep state of mind, but it has to be the lingering effects of a dream. It makes him want to stay asleep, to stay in that blissful world of dreams where everything is perfect. It’s a place where anything is possible, including a happy ending. Except there really isn’t anything happening in his dream. It’s more a feeling than anything else. He feels happy. He feels content. But he doesn’t know exactly why.

He doesn’t even want to try and figure out why. Dreams are fickle like that. The moment you try to chase after them is the moment they seem to grow even further out of reach. He should know. He thought he’d achieved his dreams; thought he’d found the one thing that could make him happy. But Lupa had merely shown him a glimpse of it and then flung it all out of his reach yet again. And though he’d tried to chase it down once more, there was always some new twist, some new turn of fate that moved it all further still.

So here he was, alone with his dreams. Alone in a bed that still smelled vaguely like the one who would make all of his dreams come true. Sometimes if he closed his eyes he could convince himself that the scent wasn’t as weak as it really was, that the scent that time had made fade was still as strong as the day it had been left. But that was only yet another dream. Because the one who’d left his heavenly scent was no longer there.

He’d been gone for a long time. And truth be told, the sheets have no doubt been changed over dozens of times since then. So such traces of his scent could only be his imagination and not real. Because there’s no way dozens of sheets could all have his same alluring scent, no way they could all have been blessed to once caress the body that was the source of such scent.

No, it was all just a dream.

Except, the scent is different today. It’s different because it’s better. It’s better because it seems so real. So real that if he concentrates it’s as if he can detect subtle nuances that he’d always known were there but never really taken the time to study before. Why had he never taken the time to learn them before? They would be such precious memories, such precious seeds of future dreams that would sustain him in a world that sought to squash such dreams while he was awake.

It’s all so good, so real, so lovely. And so strong.

It’s stronger than it should be for being just a dream. It’s stronger than it should be for being only a memory. It’s as if it were truly real, as if that scent was filling his senses because it really was in the air. He inhales deeply, holding the air in his lungs until he absolutely needs to let it out so he can take in another. He does it again, and again, and again and again. And it’s still so real.

It makes his heart ache. Because he knows it isn’t real.

He throws off the thin sheet covering him and sits up on the bed, burying his face in his hands. Try though he might, he can’t will the scent away. It invades every fiber of his being, even as his body shakes off the last remnants of sleep. He’s fully awake, and the scent is still there.

Unbidden, and like a child, he thrashes about on the bed, a cry of disgust breaking the silence of the night. It’s only then he that he realizes he has an audience.

He turns to look at the wolf who dared break into his room. There’s a growl ready to pour forth from his mouth. But it dies before it even starts.

The man looks back at him, face blank and expressionless for the span of two heart beats before he shakes his head and smiles a kind yet tired smile. “You’re an idiot, Do Kyungsoo.” The words are harsh, but the tone they were said in were anything but. And happiness floods the scent he knows so well.

-

“What are you doing here?” Kyungsoo asks him.

It’s not the first thing he’d thought he would say to him, but a valid question nonetheless. “I’m here for you,” Jongdae answers. There’s no point in being anything but truthful.

“How did you find me?”

“Minseok called your father. He called in a few favors and got the banks to trace your credit cards.”

“Great,” Kyungsoo mutters. “I’m sure he’s already composing his lecture.”

Jongdae lets himself laugh a little. “I’ve heard some bits of it, it sounds like a good one.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t respond. He’s eyeing Jongdae as if he were caged in animal, as if he was fearful of what’s Jongdae is about to do to him. To be truthful, the look isn’t exactly lost on Jongdae, he finds himself liking the fact that that he can have such an effect on the alpha. In other circumstances he might even draw it all out, let him squirm and be unsure of himself for a bit longer. But he doesn’t like the reasons for which Kyungsoo currently feels that way.

The old Jongdae would cower and wait for Kyungsoo to make the first move. The old Jongdae would still be at the Do’s estate waiting to see if Kyungsoo would ever return to him. Although to be completely honest, the old Jongdae would also be plotting his escape from the alpha.

But Jongdae isn’t the old Jongdae. He’s a new, different Jongdae. He’s working on being the Jongdae he’s always wanted to be. The Jongdae who he’d thought he’d lost when they first locked that collar around his neck and attached it to a 100-yard length of chain. He’s a Jongdae who’s not going to let his fears hold him back from living his life. And he’s a Jongdae who despite telling himself not to, ended up falling in love with an alpha, an alpha who loves and cares for him as if he were the very air that he needed to breathe. It’s time to let said alpha know he’s loved just as much as he loves, if not even more.

Except the timing isn’t exactly perfect for heartfelt declarations of love at the moment. Jongdae can tell that Kyungsoo’s rut is beginning to flare to life again. Kyungsoo’s trying to hold it back, but Jongdae thinks that it’s about time he gives in. Still, they do need to talk about a few things beforehand.

The first of which is, “You left me.”

“I had to.” Kyungsoo replies.

“Because of your rut.” It’s not a question.

Saying the word seems to remind Kyungsoo about his current predicament. He shifts on the bed as if he’s trying to find a more comfortable position. “Yes. I couldn’t trust myself to stay.”

“You didn’t have to leave without saying anything.”

“Yes I did,” Kyungsoo says. “I didn’t know if I could hold myself back. I still don’t know if I can hold myself back.”

“You managed to do so during my heat.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything back. He just shifts again on the bed, pulling the thin sheet over his lower half. Jongdae finds himself smiling. The man probably just realized he wasn’t wearing anything at all. Jongdae can sense the lust slowly building in the room, can see the way that Kyungsoo is fighting to hold it at bay.

“You should go,” Kyungsoo finally replies.

Jongdae slowly gets up from the chair he'd been sitting in by the window. “What if I don't want to go?” He crosses the room slowly, each step purposeful in bringing him closer to the bed, closer to Kyungsoo.

“You need to go, Jongdae.”

“That's where you're wrong, Kyungsoo.” Jongdae's at the foot of the bed now. If he reached out, he could touch the toes of Kyungsoo’s left foot from where they're peeking out from beneath the sheet. And because he wants to, he does.

“No, Jongdae.” Kyungsoo pulls his foot away immediately. “I heard everything. I heard what you told Chanyeol. You're wrong about me not wanting you because of your past. I don't want you because I want pups. I don't want you because you're an omega. I don't even want you because I'm in rut right now. I just want you because you're you. You're Jongdae. You're my Jongdae, and I'm so truly, madly, deeply in love with you.

“But I also heard you in the car, what you said to Sehun. I’m not going to be like those alphas and betas who raped you and used you over and over again. I’m not like them.”

Jongdae tears up at the declarations Kyungsoo is saying. He's never heard so many words come out of the alpha at once, but he knows the declarations are true. The look in his eyes is so pure that Jongdae can't help but be overcome with emotion.

“No, you're not,” he says. He reaches out to recapture the foot Kyungsoo had pulled away from him, slowly pulling it back to him so he can run his fingers over the soft underside of his soles. “You’re nothing like them. You're kind, and gentle, yet so strong, and so genuine.”

Kyungsoo’s breath hitches at Jongdae’s touch, and there's an obvious tent in the thin sheet covering him. “You need to go, Jongdae. Before I do something we both know you don’t want.”

Jongdae pulls the sheet off of Kyungsoo, staring down at his naked body. He takes it all in, every inch of sun kissed skin, every muscle toned from the war, and every bit of Kyungsoo's manhood standing tall and proud in his rut-filled need. It ignites something within him. For the first time ever he feels himself responding to an alpha because he wants to.

“It’s funny,” he says, voice trembling with either want or emotion, maybe even both. “You're the first alpha who won't take me. But you're the only I want to take me. Because you gave me a choice, you wanted it to be my choice.”

He brings his eyes up to look the alpha in the eyes. “This is my choice, Kyungsoo. For the first time ever, I want. I want you.”

“Jongdae, please.” The way Kyungsoo moans his name is like both a prayer and a warning.

“Let me give myself to you,” Jongdae says. He knows he’s won when the look of love in Kyungsoo’s eyes grow sharp with the harshness of lust. It’s as if he’s watching the human part of Kyungsoo give in to the alpha within him.

Kyungsoo pulls Jongdae down flips him onto his back, fitting himself between Jongdae’s legs. There’s no sense of dread that comes, nor the desire to retreat into the empty recesses of his mind. Jongdae responds every bit as passionately as Kyungsoo does. The idea that he is doing this willingly thrills him. The fact that he chose to give himself to the alpha, to help ease the lust and need from the alpha’s body, fills him with joy.

For the first time in his life, Jongdae truly feels loved.

-

They’re just lying there, bodies naked, basking in each other's warmth. Kyungsoo is spooned up behind Jongdae’s body, his free arm stretched out in the space between Jongdae’s neck and the bed. Jongdae has linked their fingers together, holding on him tight as if he's afraid Kyungsoo is going to disappear on him again. But there’s no chance of that happening. Kyungsoo isn't going anywhere anytime soon. He’s so happy right now. He’s happy because Jongdae is happy. He can feel it in the air.

“We should get up, get some breakfast.” Jongdae says, breaking the tranquility of the room.

Kyungsoo chuckles. “I think it's time for dinner actually.”

Jongdae hums his agreement. He brings the arm Kyungsoo’s slung over him closer to his chest, nestling in deeper against the alpha’s body. His actions completely go against his expressed wish to leave the bed, but Kyungsoo isn't complaining. His ruts last three days, and he’d had to spend the first two of them alone. But he’s pretty sure he and Jongdae had made up for the lost time. He’s never felt so sated and so satisfied. He still can’t believe Jongdae had come to him, had sought him out to help him through his rut.

“Interesting hiding place you chose,” Jongdae says, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Kyungsoo squeezes Jongdae even closer to him. Yeah, it was an interesting hiding place. Of all the places to end up he chose a little two story motel at a rest stop four hours away from home. “I wasn't exactly planning on it. It just ended up like this.”

“And this exact room? Number 2112? Kyungsoo can hear the amusement in Jongdae’s voice. It's a good sound, and he likes the way it brightens his voice. He's going to make sure that it stays that way.

“It just came out of my mouth.”

“You could have asked for your other room. You did spend more nights in that one.”

“But this is the one you were in.”

Jongdae laughs loudly. “You mean the one that Jongin went into heat in.”

Kyungsoo rolls over so he can look down at Jongdae. He knows there's a pout on his lips, even knows Jongdae is just trying to get a rise out of him. But he indulges him anyway. “You and I both know it isn't there any trace of him in here. Not after all the pheromones you and I spit out all day.”

Jongdae pulls him down so that he can cuddle against him again. And even though he probably isn’t expecting a real answer to his question, Kyungsoo gives him one anyway. “I chose this room because it was a reminder of why I was spending this rut alone. You were so determined that Jongin be the one to choose what happened to his body. I felt that if I were in here, the same room where you accused Sehun of being no better than the wolves you left behind, at least I would remember why I couldn't go to you. No matter how much I wanted to.”

“You wanted it to be my choice,” Jongdae says

“I wanted you to choose me because you loved me half as much as I love you.”

There, Kyungsoo thinks, he’d gone and said the words. He’s pretty sure he’d said as much during their love making earlier that day, and the words might have even slipped from his mouth a few times during Jongdae’s heat. But it's the first time he says it simply because it’s true. He doesn’t regret it, because he could never regret being in love with Jongdae.

Jongdae spins around to face him, a smile so wide on his face that Kyungsoo wishes he had a camera to capture just how radiant he looks. “Maybe not as much as you love me,” he tells Kyungsoo. “But I’m almost nearly halfway there.”

“Almost nearly?” Kyungsoo leans in for a slow, lingering kiss.

“Well, maybe a little more than almost nearly.”

-

Kyungsoo and Jongdae returned home to the Do’s family manor to much fanfare and celebration. Jongdae would have preferred it to be less of an event than the others had made it out to be, but he’d forgotten the leather choker he’d used to cover up his scars back in the motel room. In addition to all the scars from the steel collar that had weighed him down for so many years was another more fresh one from where Kyungsoo had made his claim. The moment Chanyeol had laid eyes upon the claim all hope for a quiet evening was lost. An impromptu dinner party was suddenly arranged with all the efficiency and sophistication that only a city-born omega can manage.

It’s funny, Jongdae thinks sometimes when he catches sight of himself in the mirror. He used to be ashamed of the scars that ringed his neck, but they never once bothered Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo saw them as a reminder of how blessed he was that Jongdae had come to love him back. In time they've all since faded away, leaving only the scars of Kyungsoo’s claim. These scars Jongdae would gladly bear for the rest of his life.

Chanyeol still claims full responsibility for Jongdae and Kyungsoo’s relationship. To hear him tell the tale, were it not for him the two would have wallowed for years in noble idiocy. He brings it up anytime he wants a favor from one of the two, which, now the he’s pregnant with his and Joonmyun’s first child, seems to be all to be all the more frequent lately.

Sehun and Jongin had decided to wait some years before sealing their relationship with a claim. Moving to the city had opened up so many doors for both of them, and they were wise to explore them and figure out what they’d wanted out of life before settling down. Jongin still doesn’t know what he wants, but it’s all but official that Sehun will eventually work in the Do’s family business. They'd moved in with Yixing and Baekhyun to give Jongdae and Kyungsoo some space and privacy.

But that hadn't lasted very long. No one had been more surprised than Jongdae when barely a year into his life with Kyungsoo he'd started feeling nauseous and was unable to keep his favorite foods down. Jongdae had gone so many years without conceiving that he hadn't thought it possible for him, not after he's lost his first litter. But the tears of joy that streamed down his face as Kyungsoo pieced all the signs together made him hope that it was true. Kyungsoo was everything he'd wanted in an alpha, and more. The man deserved to be a father, and as they sat in Baekhyun's office waiting for the official results, Jongdae prayed to Lupa that she be kind and grant him this one wish.

He needn't have worried though, for other than a few weeks of morning sickness and a shift in his appetite, Jongdae breezed through pregnancy. Even labor was easy for him, taking just over three hours from start to finish. Jongin said it was Lupa’s way of making it up to him after all the pain and heartache she'd put Jongdae through to get to that moment.

Jongdae doesn't know if he quite agrees with Jongin, but as he holds his newborn pup in his hands, he can't help but be thankful to that nameless beta who had been too eager all those years ago. Had he waited for Kyungsoo and his men to leave, Yixing would not have been there to find Jongdae, which meant that Kyungsoo would not have rescued him, or his brother and Jongin.

“Have you settled on a name?” Minseok asks him.

Jongdae nods his head. “Changmin” he says. “After you father.”

“He’s going to be so mad when he hears he missed it,” says Kyungsoo, entering the hospital room with a large cup of coffee.

Minseok and Kyungsoo’s father was away on yet another business trip. When Jongdae had first met the alpha, he had not been what Jongdae had been expecting. Whereas the two brothers had a quiet power to them, Changmin’s entire presence screamed alpha. But he'd taken one look at Jongdae and then embraced him into a big bear hug as if he'd known him for years, shattering his fierce persona.

Kyungsoo was right, his father would be very upset that he’d missed the birth of his first grandchild. But such happy events did not follow a schedule. Jongdae has learned that the happiest of moments are often the moments that happen spontaneously. Like the first time Jongdae and Kyungsoo had gotten caught in a rainstorm, the first time Kyungsoo had taken him to the beach, or that one night the power had gone out.

Long after Minseok has left for his not-date with his not-girlfriend of a secretary, Kyungsoo climbs up to cuddle next to Jongdae in his hospital bed. He’s fast asleep within minutes. The alpha had worked himself to the bone trying to finish all his projects before the baby arrived. Jongdae burrows himself deeper into his comforting warmth. “I love you, Kyungsoo,” he whispers.

Even if Kyungsoo knows it to be true, Jongdae still has trouble saying those words out loud when his mate is awake. There are still some lingering fears from his years spent collared and chained. He’s come a long way since Kyungsoo set him free, but he still has some ways to go. But he knows that he’ll make it. Because Kyungsoo will be there every step of the way.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Comments/feedback always appreciated.


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